Legends Of Heavenly Host
by JinxPrincess13
Summary: When a small delegation from Konoha arrives in Suna, Shishio finds a charm to keep friends together forever. He invites some friends (who invite more friends) to join him in this charm, only for things to go wrong and all of them to end up in Heavenly Host Elementary. It seems like they may never get out alive, but for some particularly strong souls determined to set all free.
1. Shishio

**AN: Before I start, I want to put out the accidental shippings that happened within this because some people get antsy about shippings and if you're going to get antsy about my ships, leave. This has accidental inclusion of Tobidei, Gaamatsu, Sasusaku, Shikatema, and minor character couples Korobi/Sajin, Koji/Ameno/Mikoshi and Yaoki/Saya. I guess if you really want it you can take one extremely brief mention to be Naruhina. There was going to be more Naruhina, but I failed.**

 **Secondly, there are no OCs in this whatsoever. The closest coming to that is an alteration of Yuuya Kizami so that s/he can be confused with Temari. Every other character appears in either Naruto or Corpse Party in some way, shape or form. This chapter in itself was a little rushed.**

 **Note: Chapter names refer to the person talking. This is Chapter Shishio, it is from Sand Shinobi Shishio's POV.**

It always seemed like the impossible would forever loom over our generation. Monsters and legends and giant plants of death, but really that didn't mean anything when it all came down to it.

Naruto had come to visit the Hidden Sand. Whether it was on a mission or a leisure trip, I don't know, but he brought his friends with him. At the time, I was very into the occult and whatnot. I'd been researching legends and charms (and considering what I'd seen before, I certainly believed a lot of what I'd read), and I'd come across something that really did interest me. Something about a charm to keep the souls of those who performed it linked for eternity or something like that. Well, I, being me, immediately fell in love with the idea. After all, in the world of shinobi, there was always that omnipresent danger looming over us of death in the midst of our missions. I'd always held concern for my friends, but never voiced it. If I did they would just tell me not to worry and laugh it off. Even so, if I played my cards right, I could get my friends to perform this charm, have a blast and end up protected from the fate of a shinobi.

Gathering said friends had taken an interesting turn. I'd only gone to find Koji and Ameno (Kankuro would undoubtedly be hanging with the Konoha delegation for the day), but of course things would never be between just the four of us. I mean, I'd never really liked big crowds, but I couldn't deny things branching out to my friends' friends. Ameno was with her boyfriend, Mikoshi, and he seemed interested by the concept of this charm to link friends forever and protect them and whatnot with the blessings of Sachiko. I had a bit of an internal argument over whether to let Mikoshi in or not, but eventually agreed. I mean, Kankurou would probably insist on bringing others into the charm as well.

The problem with Mikoshi is he naturally offered to bring his own friends along, so by the time we got to the barbecue place, I was followed by an additional six people. Seven doing the charm, plus Kankurou and likely his siblings too.

I just sort of slipped my way in, looking for the Konoha delegation and I guess part of me knew my friend wouldn't be too happy with the intrusion. After all, everyone needed time to relax, right?

Then again, he didn't look to be at his most relaxed there and then. I weaved my way through the tables, half-hiding behind my violet locks, before reaching my target table and allowing myself a small sigh of relief. At least they didn't mistake me for a waiter (I'd met some of them in my last Chunin exams), so I stood there quietly for a moment before they started paying attention to me, offering questioning looks. I cleared my throat before beginning.

"I know this is probably a bad time, but the guys insisted this couldn't wait and I guess the more the merrier as long as the numbers don't get too big, but I found this charm online, sort of a protective bond thing. If friends perform it together they sort of become bound and those bonds are protected and help protect the people as long as they carry their charm. We decided it might be fun to try it out, but it'd be dumb to do it without all our friends."

Okay, this was a bad idea. They were all busy.

"You can, um, all come if you want, since you're all friends with each other...and bring other friends if you want...and, um...this evening...my house...yeah...I'll just..." I backed away, feeling awkward. I guess the others were staring, except Kankurou, who was more than used to my shit.

"We'll see-jaan."

I should never have said anything. Firstly, it all went horribly wrong, and secondly, there were practically a million people in my room that evening. Looking at all the people there, I made sure the proxy doll I printed took up almost the entire sheet of paper. "Okay," I began as I walked to the centre of the room. The kids from Konoha had come along, and Gaara and Temari had made a point to invite friends of their own (who had in turn invited their own friends). I paused to count everyone, and my count leveled a horrifying 21 people. I held out the flimsy doll. "Okay, those of you taking part, take hold of the doll. There's 21 of us here...even though I said not too many people, but that doesn't matter. Sure, it'll make things painfully complicated, but still. Everyone got a hold?"

Various noises of affirmation. I nodded and continued. "Okay, close your eyes and repeat the words 'Sachiko-san, we beg of you' in your head, once for everyone present. No more, no less, or the charm fails. Don't start over, it has to be 21 times total." Another round of somewhat bored murmurs. We stayed silent until everyone finished and opened their eyes again. "Okay, now pull on the doll until it comes apart and everyone has a piece in their hands. Ready? And pull!"

Rip. I checked to make sure everyone had a piece.

"Now keep that safe. Tuck it in your wallet or ID or even your shoe, as long as you keep it on you."

"Was that it?" Came a bored voice from the other end of the doll. Mikoshi looked rather skeptical. "When's the fun part?"

"Well, um, it would've been more fun if it wasn't so crowded. But I could go get some food and drink and we can have a little party or something. I just got some chocolate soda and it's actually pretty good." I went to the door, only to find it wouldn't open. Odd. My room never had a lock. I paused, checking the cracks to see if anything was jammed in there. "Did...did someone do something to my door?"

Silence. Then a boy I was little acquainted with but who was a friend of Korobi's spoke up. "Why's everyone looking at me?"

Another boy with a bowl cut and the ugliest bodysuit I'd ever seen came to help, letting out a roar before tugging on the door with all his might. Not even the slightest budge. It was as if the door had never been able to open in the first place.

Then came the earthquake. Now, they weren't that common in Suna. Probably what had half of the room clinging to one another in fright. Not nearly as horrifying as when the floor opened up beneath us, just...falling out as though sucked into a black hole.

I blacked out then, and when I woke up, I was in a run down elementary school.


	2. Yaoki

This place, whatever it was, made my dust allergies go absolutely crazy. I couldn't stop coughing and sneezing and my ankle was throbbing like crazy to boot. I must have landed on it funny or something. Sighing apprehensively, I got to my feet, sure to keep my weight on my good foot, and cast my gaze around. There were various desks scattered haphazardly across the room, chairs on their sides, a teacher's podium and blackboard. In one corner stood a cabinet filled with jars of unidentifiable liquids and meats, and there was a notice near the door. I didn't pay much attention. Something about being sure to wash your hands when you came in from play. It looked kind of like an abandoned, jumbled version of the academy, with the floorboards rotting away. Swallowing anxiously, I stepped outside, into the hallway. It seemed the same, just a little cleaner. There were large gaps between bits of floor, making it near impossible to travel in some directions, and there was a foul smell coming from nearby. I chose not to go that way, instead went back into the classroom through the second set of doors in case there was something I couldn't see beyond the desks.

"Korobi!" I rushed to my best friend's side as best I could and started shaking him awake. He gave a vague murmur and latched onto my arm, nuzzling me like a teddy bear. "Korobi, let go, get up!"

"Nuerh...? Yaoki...? What are you doing in my room?"

I let out an exasperated groan. "This isn't your room. This is...I don't know where this is. We were doing that charm with Gaara-sama, remember?"

He sat up straight then, looking around with a scowl on his face. "This place smells of must and that hamster Nana left behind the sofa for months after it died..."

At first, I frowned as I helped him up, then I began to realise perhaps he had a point. There certainly was a foul smell of rot and something dead..."Don't worry about it. We just have to find our way out of here and back to Shishio-san's house, right? It can't be far."

He nodded, standing and going to a window. "It's raining."

"That's...unusual."

"Yaoki, I don't think we're in Suna. There's a forest down there."

"There can't be a forest. We can't have been out that long, it's over a day's travel to the nearest foresty area."

"We are in a forest! I swear, look!"

Reluctantly, I came and looked out the window. It was grubby, so I tried to open it, to no avail. It didn't even budge in the slightest. I gave a growl of frustration and kicked a nearby desk, but all that achieved was a stubbed toe. I felt hands on my shoulders.

"Calm down, Yaoki. Come on, we just have to get to the door and then go to the nearest city, we'll find one in no time, and it'll be fine."

I heaved a sigh and nodded. "Yeah, yeah, fine." We headed out back into the hall, but almost instantly, Korobi stopped me.

"Yaoki...are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a little put out...I guess I'm...worried."

"Well, that's obvious. I am too. I mean your leg. You're limping!"

"Oh...I must have twisted my ankle, that's all."

"Oh, that's no good, we can't have you getting hurt. You're my best friend after all." He beamed, grabbing my arm and looping it around his shoulders so I was leaning on him.

"Ah...thanks, Korobi..."

"No problem! What are friends for?"

We slowly went towards the source of the foul smell, considering we couldn't go in the other direction. Instantly, I wished we hadn't. We encountered a wall plastered with someone's remains, some even splashing across the ceiling. It was fresh, wet and soaked in glistening blood, globs still sliding down here and there, and bits of torn clothing barely visible in their new red colour. I think I even saw something like a forehead protector, but I didn't pay too much attention. I turned away, pulling away from Korobi and throwing up in the corner while he stared in horror.

"What...what is this?" He went closer, reaching out to touch it.

"Korobi!"

"It...it has to be fake. I've seen dead bodies before but never anything like this." Squelch. "Ah...it's real..."

"Korobi, for the love of god, stop that!"

"Sorry!" He came back to my side. "Come on, let's put that out of our minds."

"You touched it! Why the fuck would you touch it?"

"I didn't think it was real, give me a break!"

"Let's just get out of here already." I surged on and he did his best to keep pace with me, not too fast, not too slow. I didn't care where we were, I just wanted to go.

Worse yet, that mess wasn't the last body we encountered. They were littered everywhere, in various stages of decay, all killed in a variety of ways. Headless ones, ones with dried intestines leaking out, ones with exposed bones...after a while I just kept my gaze straight ahead, not daring to look at anything else. Korobi must have been braver, he was properly looking around for clues to where we might have been. Every now and then, he would stop to read something. "I think we're in an elementary school." He announced eventually as we neared the front doors.

"An elementary school?"

"Mmm. There's school newsletters." He decided not to mention the notice that proudly proclaimed 'don't trust your friend, he's only going to kill you in the end'. "Heavenly Host Elementary. Stuff about being careful on your way home because of recent disappearances."

"Seriously?"

"They're really old though. Dated way back to the 50's." He shrugged before grinning and pointing ahead. "Look, the door! We made it, Yaoki!" He ran ahead, grabbing the door and trying to yank it open.

It didn't even rattle. He kept pulling until his face went bright red, but nothing came from it. It didn't budge even slightly. "No!" He hammered on the door as I, despairing, sunk to my knees. "Let me out!" I wrapped my arms around my torso and whimpered.

"We're never going to get home!" I wailed. Korobi turned to me and a look of determination appeared on his face.

"Nonsense, Yaoki, it'll be fine. We just need more manpower. Come on, maybe if we were brought here, Gaara and the others were as well!" He pulled me to my feet and led me along. "We didn't look in any of the classrooms. We really should." We traversed a sea of abandoned shoes that lay near the entrance and returned to wandering the halls. Suddenly, my foot caught on something and a loud clatter echoed through the halls, making me jump. Some strange liquid pooled at our feet, having leaked from a bucket I had kicked over.

"Is that piss?" Korobi asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Gross, don't say that!"

"It smells of piss..."

"Korobi!"

"Sorry." He gestured to a classroom and I obediently went in. It seemed pretty plain, just a few desks, one body with a message painstakingly scratched into the wood with her nails and a newspaper. I went to the message.

"Whatever you do, don't look at the newspaper." I looked up and my heart sunk into my stomach. "Korobi, no!"

"What?" He had the newspaper in his hands, already reading through it. As he progressed, his expression became more horrified.

"Didn't you listen to me?"

"Yaoki, listen to this: Serial kidnapping ends in murder. Over the past months numerous children have gone missing and authorities turned to kidnapping as the most likely explanation. Investigators have found the location of the missing children and their findings are worse than anyone could have imagined. The bodies of the youths were discovered within the Heavenly Host building on September 27th. A male instructor was found with them, alive but near-catatonic, holding a pair of bloodied scissors. Each of the children had their tongues severed and removed...unique mutilations...far to grotesque...um...the paper's not legible after that point." He gave me a forlorn look.

"I said loud and clear not to look at that!" I snapped before going to the door. It wouldn't open. "Fuck...fuck! Korobi, what have you done?!"

"I just read the newspaper..." he glanced at it again and paled considerably.

"...What's wrong?"

"Th-the text changed...it just says 'you will never leave' now..."

"Fuck! Fuck! You ruined everything! I said don't read that paper and what did you do?"

"You said that _after_ I picked it up."

"Shut up! We're going to die!"

"Calm down, I-"

"Don't tell me to fucking calm down! Oh god, I have a girlfriend! Our parents will spend forever looking for us, desperately searching. We'll be a burden on them and they'll never know! It'll be so painful! I'm a horrible person, putting them through that! We're horrible people!"

"You're wrong."

"Huh?" I looked to him, not daring to wipe the tears from my eyes. He was looking at the floor, forlorn.

"It's never a burden. We're not horrible, and with us gone they'll search and choose to live for our sakes. The memory of the lost loved ones inspires you to live through each and every day, to be strong for the sake of those you love and to keep on protecting those who remain!"

Korobi had experience with this topic. I knew that all too well. I shouldn't be saying these things in front of him, yet I couldn't stop. I was like a spoiled brat, just throwing a hissy fit and striking out at my best friend. I'd been striking out at him ever since we'd gotten here. I had to apologise.

"I don't know about your family, but...normal people don't work that way!" No. "Normal people suffer when their loves are torn away. All you can do is run around smiling and laughing like we aren't surrounded by death. News flash, Korobi! We. Are. Going. To. Die! All you can do is wander around in circles, chatting away like it's an average day! Do you even know how annoying that is? It's like you're enjoying that, so why don't you go enjoy it elsewhere?!"

He seemed shocked beyond belief. I could see tears in his eyes.

"No..." He breathed. I'd gone too far. "No! No, I don't want you of all people to talk to me like that, Yaoki! You're my best friend! How could you say those things?"

I had to say sorry. "Because you're dragging me to my death!" Wait, what? I hadn't even thought that. Where did that come from? "You're the one ensuring our destruction, and you have a smile the whole way through!"

"I...I..." He shut his eyes, shaking his head fervently before rushing to the door. Strangely, it slid open for him without him even touching it. I was left alone.

I think I must have blacked out. For the longest time I cried, then I wandered aimlessly, calling for my friend who I had carelessly destroyed. I started running, screaming frantically for Korobi to come back. When I came back to my senses, I was outside the bathrooms, staring at a scrap of paper.

Korobi's proxy doll scrap. At once, I brightened up, wiping my eyes. "Korobi! Korobi, are you here? Korobi, I'm sorry, I'm so, so, so sorry! I didn't mean any of it!...Korobi?" There was a loud crash from inside the men's room. Frowning, I went in. "Korobi? Koroooobiiiiii?" One of the stall doors was rattling, as though someone were frantically beating at it. Cautiously, I pushed it open.

I fell back with a cry of horror. There was Korobi, hanging by his neck from a thick rope. "Korobi! No, no no no no no, this can't be real...Korobi...I'm so sorry, you can't be dead..."

Suddenly, he began to cough. "Ya...o...ki..."

He could see me. He was aware of me. "Korobi! Oh, Korobi, I'm so sorry!" He gagged, desperately trying to get some air in. "Oh god...don't worry, Korobi, I'll save you now!" I grabbed his waist, planning to hoist him up, but my overzealous grab pulled him down, tightening the rope and had him emitting a horrifying strangled cry. I cried out in shock. "No, I'm sorry! I'll...I'll find something for you to stand on!" There was a bucket, the one I'd kicked over, just down the stairs. I ran for it, hesitant to pick it up as it was still covered in piss, but in the end managed to swallow my pride.

Damn my hesitance though. And my awful words. When I got back to Korobi, he hung there, swinging back and forth with the leftover momentum of his struggle, blood and spittle on his chin, tears tracking down his cheeks and all the life gone from his bloodshot eyes. The rusted bucket fell from my hands, the clatter echoing once more. I screamed.

"KOROBIIIIII! No! NO! How could this happen? I'm so sorry...please, please don't leave me alone here! Please...I don't want my best friend to die...not like this, not now and here...please, Korobi...say something! Don't just hang there, don't let this be real, please! Why would you hang yourself? You've always been so cheerful, so positive...why would you do this? I'm sorry Korobi, I'm so, so sorry!"

We'd been laughing and having fun just a few hours before, and now he was dead. It was all my fault. He'd just died before my eyes and there was nothing I could do about it.


	3. Temari

"This school is comprised of several closed spaces, meaning even if you are in the same room at the same time, if you and your friends are in a different space, you won't be able to meet up. There is no escape, only lonely wandering...perhaps you should at least be grateful you have one another."

The speaker was nothing more than an ethereal blue glow, trying hard to form the shape of a person. I was sat in a musty classroom, facing my brother as I propped his back against the teacher's podium. He'd clearly taken a pretty bad fall since we'd arrived, and I could swear I saw a flash of white and red beneath the tear in his kimono top. His breathing was ragged, though that might have been because he was hyperventilating, and I was pretty sure one of his arms was dislocated.

"So how do we get out?" I asked, bracing my hands on his shoulders.

"I already said, there is no escape." The blue thing repeated as I tried to get my brother to calm down.

"Trust me, we're resourceful, we'll find a way out and we'll find the others, closed spaces or no."

The spirit inclined its head before disappearing. I turned my full attentions to my brother. "Kankurou, breathe. Come on, you're not really this weak, are you?"

"Sh-shut up!" He managed through clenched teeth before pushing me away with his good arm and standing. He tried to mask the pain, but I caught the odd twitch. He was hurt bad. Still, Sakura might be here. I knew she was a medical ninja. And Kankurou's friend, Ameno. I wasn't sure about anyone else. I offered my shoulder for support, but he ignored it and went on himself. Rolling my eyes, I followed him.

There wasn't much in the halls. The north hall had collapsed. The south path had collapsed. There was a hallway northwards that led east, and they could walk that one, but there was a ghost there, stood over a teenage girl. The girl was on her back, and going a little closer, we saw her stomach had been torn open. Kankurou clamped a hand over his mouth, gagging. The ghost raised her hand. In her grasp, a pair of scissors, open wide, the dead body's intestines sitting comfortably on the bottom blade. One snip and the entrails fell. Slowly, I backed away, and Kankurou easily followed suit, pointing silently to a flight of stairs. They went up, unfortunately, but any stairs down must have been blocked off. On the way up, my brother stopped to pick something up.

"What is it?"

"Hmm? Oh, I found a key." He held it up with a cocky grin, as though we hadn't just seen a ghost cutting up some poor girl's body. I shook my head, trying not to smile as I led the way up the stairs. The hallway was short, and ended just after two doors. Bathrooms. The men's was boarded up. Kankurou stopped and looked at it for a moment before biting his lip. "Temari?"

I looked over, arching an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"I need to go take a piss. You mind waiting?"

One hell of an inopportune time. Rolling my eyes, I gestured for him to go ahead, and he stepped into the girls' bathroom. I moved away, but instantly, he came back out.

"That was quick." I commented.

"Couldn't go, jaan."

"Why?" I asked, stepping into the toilets. The reason became obvious at once, however. The floor before the stalls had fallen away, and the sinks were shattered. I was silent for a moment before shrugging. "We'll add finding a toilet to our list of things to do." I promised, pinching his cheek with a smirk. He slapped my hand away.

"Forget it, jaan." We walked off again. He made sure to take a look at the key in his hands. It was a key for the school infirmary.

"We should go there." I decided, looking at his dislocated arm and exposed rib. He shrugged.

"Yeah, sure. There might be something useful." He was keeping up his tough air.

We entered cautiously. The room had an oppressive air to it, and the two notices on the wall seemed weird. Kankurou sat on one of the beds to get his breath back and I took a look around. There was a desk with pen, diary and candle on it, but none of them moved, as though they were all merely decorations. I found some bandages, but I knew Kankurou wouldn't let me put them on. He'd be too proud to have his arm put in a sling, and would move too much if I tried to bind his ribs. The notices both said 'wash the blood with soap' and there was an anatomical diagram with the organs painted over in what seemed like real blood. Turning, I saw Kankurou had moved to lie on his back. He looked like he was asleep, though his breathing was still uneven. I was tempted to brush his hair back, but on the offchance that he might be awake, I held back.

"Korobi!"

He sat upright at once, and I looked round. "Wasn't that...?"

"Yeah, Yaoki."

The voice sounded out again. "Korobi, I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!"

"You rest." I commanded, moving to the door. "I'll go look for him."

"No!" I looked over. It was strange to hear that fear coming from my little brother. Instantly, he cleared his throat, embarrassed. "Look, I just...don't think we should split up in here. It's clearly really dangerous and I don't want us to lose each other if something else should come up."

He raised a good point, as much as I hated to admit it. I sat on the bed next to the one he was on and sighed. "You really need to rest with your chest..."

"I can rest any time, anywhere. I don't need this bed, you know, jaan."

"You sure?"

"Positive. You don't need to baby me, you know." He got up again. I wanted to say he already looked exhausted, which was true, but I held my tongue. It would just annoy him. Instead I nodded and headed to the door, only for a thump to catch my attention. Worried Kankurou had fallen, I spun round, but all that had changed was that there was a newspaper on the floor. Kankurou was staring at it as though it was about to kill him. Cautiously, I approached it and started reading.

"The brutal, shocking deaths of the kidnapped grade-schoolers have now been traced back to the hands of the instructor found with them. The scissors he was found with were confirmed to have been used to cut out the victim's tongues, ultimately leading to death through excessive bleeding or choking. One of the victims even had her head slowly and methodically removed. This cranial mass was found on the floor next to her body. The heavenly host students pictured here are the four found in the basement. One was...when investigators arrived at the scene she was..." There was blood covering the rest of the article. Kankurou had gone pale, but that might have been because of the injuries. "Those photos..." He managed. "The girl with the pigtails...that was the girl with the scissors..." I dropped the paper and walked out, snapping at him to follow.

"I can't take this anymore!"

We both stopped, exchanging glances before Kankurou ran on. "Gaara! Ototo?" Groaning, I followed. At least we might find our brother. Surely if we could hear him, he wouldn't be in a different closed space. All we found, however, was a blood stain leading down the hall as though someone had been dragged. We slowed, following the trail a little until it led to a wall and a nail puller. I picked it up twirling it in my hands.

"You needed to go, right? We might be able to get into the Men's room with this."

He was searching the wall for some kind of seam, as though looking for a secret door. "Kankurou!" He jumped and looked over.

"Gaara was here! We have to find him."

"He isn't here now. We'll find him, I promise. It'll take time though. We need to know where to look. Aimlessly wandering won't help anyone." I offered my hand and begrudgingly, he turned and walked towards the stairs. "Kankurou!"

"You said we could get into the men's room now. Come on, my bladder's stretched to breaking point..."

"...Nice..."

The boards came off and fell to the floor, and my brother pushed past me moodily. After a second or two I heard him swear and looked in. No stalls, no urinals, and the sinks were filled with the remains of someone. Definitely unusable.

I heaved a sigh. "Cross your legs, Kankurou. We might as well search for Gaara and Yaoki now, as well as the others."

He gave a slight moan but nodded anyway. We went back down and found the corridor to the east had opened out, allowing us to go downstairs. The ghost was gone but the body of the girl still lay there. Stepping carefully around her, we made our way down the hall on the first floor. There was a door at the end. It was stiff, but a few good tugs got it open.

The door led to an outdoor annex that joined two buildings together. The fence was about chest-height, but if we could vault over it, we could escape the school and we'd then have to traverse the forest.. The second wing had a thick, oppressive air to it, and my head started pulsing. Turning, I found Kankurou too had clutched his head, clearly in pain. We passed into the room to the right on impulse and found another bathroom. This time we headed in together, only to find once again the floor in front of the stalls had fallen away.

"You know, there are a lot of buckets and the sinks here are intact. If I turned away or left you in the room alone, you could-"

"No! I don't need to go that bad, jaan."

"So you can hold it?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

I nodded and gestured for him to follow me, and we went up a floor. The floor was destroyed once more, no way across the hall on the second floor. We went back down to the first floor and to the room left of the main entrance. There was a music room and an art room. Neither had anything important inside. They were just plain classrooms.

"Temari...Nee-san!" I followed Kankurou's gaze and saw a girl stood in the corner, back to us. She had purple hair, some tied back in a bun. I went up to her and cleared my throat.

"Miss?"

She wasn't speaking, but mouthing something frantically. She had amber eyes and a lip piercing just below her lower lip.

"Miss?" I repeated. This time I was able to hear her.

"These chicks who are nested within, never to be seen again...washed away by nothingness...rising and falling in a constant stream..." I reached out to touch her shoulder, and suddenly she started screaming and pulling chunks of her hair out. I stepped back in shock and tried grabbing her arm. In an instant, Kankurou was by my side and pulling me away.

"She's too far gone, jaan." Another look and I realised he was right. The girl didn't even seem the slightest bit aware that I was there. When she looked in the right direction, she seemed to be looking right through us. Sadly, we left the room. Someone else pushed past us, pushing me right into the wall. A blonde girl with a high ponytail, wearing lilac tunic shirt and navy shirt. Frowning, we followed her. Eventually, she stopped running and I cleared my throat.

"What's wrong?" I asked, reaching to her again. She had brown eyes and was clearly quite young. She was from the land of wind, I remembered her vaguely. She had been childish and loved puppets, never speaking to people. I didn't know her name. Kankurou might have, but I didn't get to ask. She screamed and slapped my hands away, running off again. I sighed, shaking my head.

"No luck here..." I muttered. We headed back to the first floor, when suddenly an earthquake started up. Yelping, Kankurou dropped to his knees. I cried out too, bracing myself against the wall. Eventually it stopped, and he groaned again. Slowly, I pulled away from the wall and offered my hands to my brother. He took them with his good hand and let me pull him up.

We made it to the first floor again. Something seemed different, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Frowning, I surged on back to the second floor where the floor had fallen out, Kankurou following behind me slowly. The floor...seemed to have repaired itself...

"That's impossible..." I breathed, crouching down to examine the floor. Kankurou walked past me to a set of doors up ahead, then swore once more. Looking up, I saw him frantically trying to tear open a door. Walking over, I found the door was labeled 'Girls' Bathroom', but sealed with various protective charms. I placed a hand on his shoulder and he let his arm drop. "I give up." He whined. "I'll just go in the forest."

"The forest?"

"Yeah, let's go back to that annex between the buildings. I can climb over the fence and go out there."

I gave a reluctant nod. "I'll stay just inside the door. If something happens, yell as loud as you can."

He laughed at that as we walked back to the entranceway. "I can take care of myself, jaan."

"Still, this place is dangerous."

"I know, I know. I'll be fine." He stepped out into the crossway and shut the door behind him. I leant against the door for a moment with a sigh.

The quiet air was suddenly broken by a yell. I turned, hands at the door. "Kankurou?" I called as I pulled.

The door didn't budge, and Kankurou's yells stopped. "Kankurou!" I screamed again. Fuck, this was bad. He was in serious trouble and I couldn't get to him. "Kankurou! Answer me! Kankurou!"

No response. No matter what I tried, it seemed my brother and I had been separated.


	4. Gaara

At first, I'd thought I was alone in this strange place of death and decay. I wandered the halls, stopping every so often to examine something. There were notices all over, spouting vile things and talking about the deaths of four children, kidnapped and mutilated. Aside from that sat various bodies in varying states of decay, all young and murdered. It could turn the stomach of even the strongest man. Speaking of which, I hated to think how people like Yukata and Korobi would hold up in this hellhole.

I was reading another paper, sat cross-legged against the wall. It detailed the extent of the mutilations the children had been victim to, but it seemed the torn and bloodied edges of previous papers had been trying to say one child survived. There were certainly only three deaths in the article. I heard the door open, but I was in the far corner, hidden behind a cabinet. Whatever had killed these children might still be there, after all. I heard footsteps as someone looked around the room, and then a voice.  
"Hello? Temari-san? Gaara-sama? Yukata-san? Is anyone in here?"  
I recognised the voice all too well. The dainty, melodious tones of one of my closest friends and my only student. Creeping forward to see more of the room, my eyes confirmed my thoughts. Matsuri stood by the blackboard, examining a drawing tacked on to it of a teacher being stabbed by four cheerful children. Cautiously, I got to my feet, making my way over. She turned slowly at the sound of creaking floorboards, and instantly her face brightened. Next thing I knew, she had me in a tight embrace.  
"Gaara-sama! Oh, thank god you're okay!"  
"Matsuri." I greeted casually, as though completely unphased by all that was happening. "And you. You are unharmed?"  
"I'm totally fine, I swear."  
The next question we asked at the same time.  
"Have you seen anyone else?"  
"What about the others?"  
We stepped away from one another, regarding each other with concerned gazes.  
"You're the only person I've seen since the charm, Gaara-sama." Matsuri admitted softly. "Sorry.  
I just nodded. "Me neither." I gestured to the door. I was feeling strangely anxious. These bodies had no doubt been here a long time, but there was still that looming possibility of the killer still being here (and some had clearly been murdered). No doubt my friends were tough, but I still worried about them. What if they weren't strong enough to survive whatever this was? Silently, we left the room, and slowly, I filled her in on my findings, and she, upon being shown the pictures, stated she had seen the children who had been killed in the newspapers. There were ghosts of children walking through these halls. It seemed as though it might even be them who were killing others.

I'm not sure how long we walked for, but we spoke a little. Not just about what we had found this time, but...it was more like being at home, just spending time with my friends. She spoke to me about training techniques, her last outing with Sari and Yukata and even tried to get me to talk about what kind of girls I liked. I let her talk, adding the odd comment to keep her encouraged. It was good to hear her talk away like this. It even uplifted my spirits a little.

Then we heard something that made our blood freeze over. A scream. A voice filled with hopeless desperation and unimaginable pain. Something I'd heard way too often for it to surprise me, but this time I recognised the voice.

It was someone I called a friend. Matsuri had fallen still and silent.  
"Yaoki..." I breathed in shock.  
"We have to find him." Matsuri decided firmly. I nodded and we took off, heading up the stairs. We were certain the yell had come from upstairs, and it went out of my head, that Matsuri had been told we were in different dimensions to our friends, even if we were in the same school.

The top of the steps led us to the bathrooms. We were looking for a man, so I went into the men's room, Matsuri following me uncertainly. There was a black stain on the floor. Crouching by it, it seemed to be a pool of unidentifiable liquid, almost completely dried in. I heard the scream again, Yaoki's voice echoing despairingly through the room, and the door to one of the stalls suddenly slammed open. Matsuri gave a cry of fright before peering in.  
"It's...empty." I looked up. The stall was stained black, but indeed empty. For some reason, that sight struck terror into my heart and soul, and suddenly everything went white, the light stinging my eyeballs. I couldn't breathe no matter how hard I tried, feeling ice cold but for a burning pain around my neck. Desperately, I clawed at my neck, trying to open my airway. My neck was stiff, I couldn't tilt my head back. I felt like my feet weren't even touching the ground and kicked out desperately.

Then suddenly I could breathe again. I took in great gulps as a pulsing warmth embraced me, something soft cradling my head. I nuzzled into it, shutting my eyes.  
"Gaara-sama, please be okay, please stop it...come back, please..."  
I frowned at that. "Matsuri..." I mumbled, recognising the voice before remembering where we were. My eyes shot open. "What's going on? Matsuri?"  
Her voice brightened, sorrow disappearing in a flash. "Gaara-sama!"  
It came from above me. Glancing up, I saw her tear-stained face, a red mark on her cheek as though she'd been hit. Why was I below her? My feet were flat on the floor, but her arms were tight around me, keeping bent over and...I pulled back at once with a gasp. I'd been pressed against her chest! I'd relaxed against...so embarrassing.  
"Are you okay, Gaara-sama?"  
I gave a slight nod. "What happened?"  
"You...you started acting really weird..."  
"...Weird?"  
"You don't remember?"  
"I...the bathroom door opened and then there was a bright light and I felt cold and couldn't breathe...and when I came to, you were squeezing the life out of me..."  
Her cheeks went a little redder, as though blushing. "You just ran off..." Looking round, I confirmed that. We were no longer in the bathrooms. "You were saying really weird things, talking to yourself, asking why I was doing something...not sure what...I just wanted you to come back to normal."  
I heaved a sigh, massaging my temples. I was getting a headache. "I think...those stains...someone we knew died in that room..."  
"You mean Yaoki-..."  
"Judging by his yells was likely a witness...he might still be alive." The more I spoke, the more my heart sunk. "Either way, they aren't in there, or we cannot reach them from there. Yaoki is in a different dimension." I reached out for her hand and she took it at once, squeezing comfortingly. "We need to find who we can and find a way out of here. After a moment, I felt her thumb brush against my cheek, spreading something wet.  
"Don't cry, Gaara-sama, it'll be okay. We'll get out of here and we'll find them, protect them. I'm sure of it."  
I wasn't aware I'd been crying until she'd pointed it out. I turned to her, and I saw confidence taking charge over the fear and sadness. I decided I needed to protect her as long as we were in here.

A spirit stood at the bottom of the stairs though. One of the children from the articles that Matsuri had seen before. It had something in its hands. Closer inspection showed a pair of bloodstained scissors.  
It tried to speak, but its words came out garbled. The message was something I managed to decipher after a moment. 'Why did you kill me?'  
"You're one of the victims of Heavenly Host." I noted aloud. "The little boy." There was a dark stain on his clothes, as well as what must have been blood running down his chin.

 _Stabbed in the stomach numerous times. Tongues severed._  
 _  
_I suppressed a shudder and stepped forward. "Let us pass."  
Another garbled sentence. 'You'll pay'.

Suddenly, the boy rushed forward, and I pushed Matsuri out of the way. A sharp pain blossomed in my arm. My sand shield hadn't come up, and I found the scissors embedded in my arm. Hands closed around my other arm and suddenly I was being pulled along, away from the ghost child, which followed at a slow walk. I don't know how long we were running for, but eventually we rested against a wall, breathing hard. I looked down at the scissors in my arm, realising that having that protruding from my being would cause problems. Slowly, I gripped the handle, wincing and grunting at the shoot of pain.  
"Gaara, stop!" Matsuri put her hands over my own, giving me a stern look. She checked the way we'd come to ensure we'd lost the ghost boy. "There's got to be an infirmary. We're in a school. We can bandage your arm then so it'll be safer." She turned back round and started walking, still holding one of my hands. "Come on, we-"

Peering ahead, I saw at once why she'd stopped. Another spirit had appeared, this time of a little girl, another one from the pictures. Upon laying her one-eyed gaze on us, she giggled and entered a room. We waited a few minutes before walking again, planning to pass the room in search of the infirmary. Only problem was, the room the ghost girl had gone into was the infirmary. Conversation drifted out, a familiar voice laughing with the ghost girl and another child's voice. Talking.  
"Yes, I love my teacher too! He is inspirational and always full of the power of youth!"  
"Lee..." I breathed, concerned, before throwing open the door and running in, pulling my poor student with me. "Lee!"  
Lee turned to face us, a big smile on his face. He was stood between the ghost girl and another spirit, I assumed the final ghost child. Most of her head was missing. "Gaara-kun, Matsuri-san! It is good to see you! Come, sit with us, we were talking about our senseis!"  
I shook my head, holding my hand out. "Lee, these ghosts are dangerous. Come with me, we have to get out of here."  
"Gaara-kun, you're injured!"  
"Lee! We don't have time for that, get away from them!"  
Lee hesitated before shaking his head. "They aren't bad. I've been speaking to them. They had something awful happen to them and they've been so alone. They just want company, someone to understand them and love them. They've been trapped here away from their friends and family since they died."  
"I..." I released Matsuri's hand.  
"Gaara?" She asked, shocked.  
"They're alone?" I repeated uncertainly. Thinking about it, Lee had described my childhood. _Someone to understand and love them._ "They aren't bad...?"  
"Gaara, they stabbed you." Matsuri pointed out skeptically, crossing her arms. "They don't have to be trapped here...there's always a way to put spirits to rest, send them on to meet their friends and family. If we can do that, we can help them...you two'd want to help them, wouldn't you?"  
Lee nodded firmly. "Yes, of course! I would do anything to help my new friends! Yuki-chan, Tokiko-chan, we can help save your souls, right? Help show us the way!"  
I moved closer, hoping to get on the spirits' good sides, but instead a powerful force hit me, throwing me back. I hit the wall, breath knocked out of me.  
"Lee-san!"  
Cracking open my eyes, I saw what Matsuri had yelled for. He was suspended in the air, the spirits each holding one arm, keeping it out straight as Lee's head fell forward. He seemed to be unconscious. "Lee!" I cried, getting to my feet. "Put him down!"  
They paid no heed.  
"What do we do?" Matsuri whimpered, clasping her hands together before her mouth.  
"Exactly what you said. Put them to rest."  
"How?"  
I looked at her for a moment, then to Lee, before leaving the room and taking a deep breath.

It was only when Matsuri followed and asked "Who are you?" That I became aware someone else was there. I looked up, seeing a man with long, blond hair, and blue eyes with no light.  
"His eyes are like a dead fish's." It was out of my mouth before I realised I'd had that thought, and the man smiled.  
"I admit, I've been dead a long time, un. I died here a while ago, looking for someone."  
"An important person?" Matsuri asked, frowning. "You came here willingly for them? That's...admirable. I'm not sure I could be that brave."  
The man instantly changed topic. "Your friend in there is under the power of those spirits. If those spirits are given closure for their rather violent deaths, the barriers holding the closed spaces together will break down, un. Not only would you save your friend, but you'd be able to find others you traveled here with, un. These spaces are only held together by the suffering of those children."  
"How exactly do we give them closure?" I asked, brow furrowing.  
"Perhaps they need a show of remorse from the one who killed them."  
"The one who...?" The man laughed at our expressions of horror. "You mean he's...?"  
"In the school as well, yes."  
Matsuri shook her head. "How do we get someone like that to show remorse?"  
The man shrugged, smiling. "Hurry up before your little friend reaches with a grisly end. Good luck, un."  
He turned and walked away, and I shrugged, letting him go. "Matsuri, come, we have to find a way to save Lee."  
She nodded, hurrying after me. "Do you really think we can do this?"  
"We won't know until we try."  
"Where do we even look?"  
I didn't know. "We look anywhere and everywhere."  
She nodded in determination. "Right!"  
We scaled a flight of stairs, and-

Ouch. I must have tripped over something.  
"Gaara-sama, are you okay?"  
I nodded, flipping onto my back and picking up whatever I'd tripped on. It was the head of an old antique doll.  
"Is that thing speaking?" My former student asked shakily. I listened closely, and indeed, I could hear something.  
'find...my...body...return...me...to...my...body...'  
I exchanged looks with one another. She reached out to help me up and I staggered, falling against her. I felt my cheeks heat up before my eyes fell on the slight bruise on her cheek. "Did someone hit you?"  
"Huh?" Her hand flew to her cheek and she looked away. "It happened when you sort of stopped being you and totally flipped out...it's nothing, it doesn't even hurt!"  
"Are you saying I hit you?"  
"It was an accident. You were panicking."  
It was a lie. An obvious lie. Even so, I guess she was trying to protect me. I ignored it and pocketed the doll head. Even so, I couldn't sink the feeling of guilt. I'd bruised her pretty face. She hadn't expected it and we hadn't been training, it was pure malice. I knew it and so did she. Even so, she stuck by me in case I needed her.

It didn't take us long to find the body of the doll. Matsuri found it around where we'd first heard Yaoki screaming. When we placed the doll back together, it started speaking again. It chanted words along in a set rhythm, a loud, emotionless monotone.  
'To have killed children so brutally...I was not in my right mind...I did not want them to die...I was scared too...I am so sorry I am so sorry so very sorry...I am actually a good person...I am so sorry I am so sorry so very sorry..."  
Matsuri froze, staring at it as though afraid. "Do you think this...belonged to the murderer?"  
My hands clenched tightly over the doll. "Doesn't it kind of piss you off? Like it's just saying what you want to hear, like it doesn't really care." I glared at the doll. "We don't need this." I went to throw it, but her hands caught my arm, stopping me.  
"Gaara, wait, this could count as repentance. Maybe if we show the spirits this, they'll leave Lee alone!"  
I still wanted to destroy the thing, but slowly I agreed, nodding and returning to the infirmary.

Lee still hung there, and we called to him as we ran in. The door slammed shut behind us and Matsuri gave a squeak of fear. Suddenly her face flashed with anger.  
"Haven't you ghosts done enough already? I don't know everything that happened, I've never been through it, and I get it was horrible, heart-wrenching horrible, but you're cursing and killing innocent people who had nothing to do with it! What the hell are you even trying to accomplish?"  
Before she could say anything else, I held up the doll. "Listen, please!"  
The doll spoke again, and the children listened to the penitent spirit sealed within. The child spirits paused, whimpering and then wailing. One of them called for her mum.  
I swallowed hard. "You're free now. Go. Go to your families."  
The girl threw her head back, screaming for her mother again, but something was wrong. The room began to shake and Matsuri and I clung to one another. Suddenly the ghosts moved, right through the closed door, shattering it as Lee slammed through.  
"No! No, stop!" I yelled, running out after them.

Lee hit the wall with a sickening sound. A thud, crunch and slat all in one. My eyes shut on instinct in response to the sound, and when I opened them, all that remained was a mass of blood, bone and meat covering the wall and ceiling. My stomach lurched. I may have vomited, I may not, I'm not sure. I felt that overwhelming nausea and then pain all over, and I gripped my head. Beside me, Matsuri stopped, tears flowing.  
"Lee...Gaara..."  
I still had the doll in my hand. In a fit of rage and with a scream of frustration, I threw the doll against the wall. It landed in one piece, unlike my friend. Tears stung my own eyes.  
"I can't take this any more!" I screamed before running, lost in the pain and nausea overtaking every inch of my body.

In the back of my mind I heard Matsuri call my name, her footsteps as she followed...

The scrape of something heavy and metal across the floor and the sickening thud as someone brought it down over Matsuri's head...


	5. Koji

At first I thought 'at least my team's here with me'. There were two people with me, one behind me, searching for something, the other stood before me, trying to pull me to my senses. It was Ameno. As my vision cleared, I reached out, taking her hand. "I'm good." I assured her quickly, allowing her to pull me to my feet. I turned, expecting to see the usually stoic, sour face of Shishio, but instead I saw someone else on his hands and knees, searching for something by sweeping his hands over the wood.

It was Ameno's stupid little boyfriend, Mikoshi. He'd destroyed our otherwise perfect team with his little intrusions. It seemed like he'd lost his glasses. Once again, he was being annoying and a complete burden. Ameno rushed over to help him, quickly locating his glasses for him and helping him to stand.  
"You okay?" She asked.  
"Fine." Mikoshi answered with a smile. The smile was returned, a personal thing between the two of them. I stood nearby as the third wheel. It was beyond awkward, I had to admit it. After a second or two, I stepped up between them.  
"Okay, so I don't know where we are, but this sure as hell isn't Shishio's house, and even someone like him wouldn't be able to pull off something like this. We ought to find out what the hell's going on." I surged on to the door, expecting them to follow.  
Mikoshi spoke behind me. "I think we need to make an action plan. Our main priorities should be finding our friends and finding a way out of this place. An escape shouldn't be too difficult to find."  
I ignored him, going upstairs. As I took the lead, they followed.  
"Is upstairs the best idea, Koji?" Ameno asked.  
I shrugged. "Walking out the front door...it can't be as easy as that. We'll need to gather some information, and like Mikoshi-san said, we have to find our friends." I got to the top of the stairs, but before me just sat some bathrooms. Ameno sighed, stepping forward.  
"Will you excuse me, boys? I need to go." She didn't wait for a response. I looked to my sole companion and sighed.

Suddenly a shout of fury rang out, a scream of 'shut the goddamned door', mixed with a scream. Ameno burst out a second later, panting.  
"Fuck...there was something in the stalls." She whined, clinging to Mikoshi's arm as she got her breath back. I waited for her to elaborate, but instead, "No! I dropped my medical pouch! It has my paper scrap inside."  
I groaned. "Go get it then!"  
"I'm not going back in there."  
Mikoshi gave her a comforting smile. "I'll get it."  
"No!" I interrupted at once, getting shocked looks. "I...I mean, you wait here with Ameno, keep each other safe. I trust you to protect each other. I'll get the pouch." I gave them a smile and passed through into the bathroom. I realised pretty quickly. "God's sake, Ameno, this is the men's room!" I went further in and quickly located her pouch, scooping it up and turning to leave. When I turned, I saw the stall was open slightly, an ethereal blue eye staring out at me. "...Hello?"  
The door opened a little further, showing a rather sharp-dressed spirit. "Hello." He answered with a smile. "You didn't come bursting into my stall."  
"Nah, I just came for the pouch...sorry about my friend. She can be a bit clueless at times."  
"You're retrieving your friend's belongings?"  
I nodded. "Why? You lose something?"  
"My glasses and hat. Another spirit stole them from me."  
"Well...if I see 'em, I'll let you know." I promised before leaving. It seemed kind of surreal, talking to a ghost. Ameno thanked me with a hug.

I don't know how long we were traveling after that. I'd long since put my meeting with the spirit out of my mind. We'd stopped for a rest in the infirmary. We were examining cabinets and notices, bandages and furnaces. Suddenly, Mikoshi turned to me.  
"Koji. There's something under those beds."  
Frowning, I dug my feet underneath and kicked out a felt hat and round rectangle glasses.  
"Do these belong to the bathroom ghost?" I asked aloud before I could stop myself.  
Ameno froze. "The one that made me drop my pouch?"  
"Yeah...he was just upset you burst into the stall while he was on the toilet or something." I answered with a smirk. "Said these had been stolen from him. Maybe if we return them, he'll help us in return. He might have seen someone else, like Shishio or Kankurou."  
Ameno suddenly seemed determined. I guess the idea of finding her friends must have bolstered her or something. She gave a nod and grabbed Mikoshi's wrist. "Let's go."  
She was never that close and comfortable with me any more. Grumbling, I picked up the items and followed.

The ghost thanked us warmly, taking his hat and glasses back. We were careful not to just open the door. Instead we knocked, calling out that we'd found his glasses for him. No reward, no offer to help. When I asked if he'd seen anyone, he answered that he'd spent every moment since his death within that stall. I left disheartened, but for some reason, Mikoshi and Ameno were smiling. They seemed painfully cheerful. Just doing a good deed had always seemed to bolster Ameno's emotions. I followed them moodily, letting them talk away.

Suddenly a scream pierced the air, pulling me back to my senses. Looking up, I found a horrifying sight. Ameno was on the floor, face pale, tears streaming down her cheeks. She was surrounded by blood. It all happened so suddenly. It looked like something akin to a bear trap had snapped shut on her leg, severing it just below the knee. Her lower leg had hit the opposite wall. It took me a while to process what had happened, and by that point Mikoshi was already binding her leg in bandages to stop the bleeding.  
"Mikoshi, once you're done, we have to get out of here. Ameno needs care immediately. We can come back for the others. I can carry her on my shoulders and we can kick down the door if we have to."  
"W-what if there are o-other traps? I-if another one of us s-steps in one, w-we'll not be able to get Ameno out alright. We need to make sure there's a safe path out or we'll just be making things more dangerous."  
Ah. Tragically, he had a point there. "Okay. You stay here, protect Ameno-chan with your life, you hear me?"  
"Of course."  
I walked off. The halls seemed clear, no more traps at all. Not a single one. It was as if Ameno had been unlucky enough to step in the only trap in the entire building, tucked tight into the corner. Then again, she'd only been walking so close to the wall because her arm had been linked with Mikoshi's.

No, I shouldn't start blaming him. If we get Ameno's leg on ice ASAP, we can reattach it. I reached the door. There was a spirit curled up in the corner but I didn't pay him any heed. As I approached the door, it slid open. By itself. I slowly stepped outside, where it was raining heavily. I was soaked in an instant. Before me, a forest stretched on for an eternity. I doubted we'd be able to navigate through that in time. I hurried back to Ameno and Koji.

When I got back, Mikoshi's head was bowed, shoulders shaking. I approached, a feeling of dread washing over me. Ameno wasn't moving, not even slightly. Not even breathing. I reached over his shoulder, touching her cheek. It was ice cold.  
"Ameno..." I breathed, tears stinging my eyes. Mikoshi looked up, eyes red, face puffy with tears soaking him. Next I knew, I'd hauled him up roughly by his arms and was shaking him.  
"What did you do?!"  
He gripped my hands, throwing me off him. "I tried to keep her alive. She died shortly after you left, just slipped away, I tried to get her breathing again but it didn't work I'm so sorry!"  
"I trusted you..." I threw my fist out, connecting with his nose. "I trusted you! I believed you would look after her, trust you to protect her!" He backed up, hands up in surrender.  
"Koji, please! I tried! Please, stop..." He was crying so hard. I grabbed something from nearby, something stiff yet somewhat squishy. Mikoshi paled and I hit him with it.  
"Koji, that's her leg! You're defiling her...what the hell is wrong with you?!"  
"You let her die!" The coward ran then. I chased him to a dead end, the only thing nearby being a bloodstained chute. He panicked, looking around as I gained on him, then threw himself head first down the chute. I threw the leg down after him and screamed, punching the wall.

Ameno was dead.

It was all his fault. I'd trusted him. For the first time ever I trusted him. He betrayed that trust.

He killed her.


	6. Sakura

The children had their tongues severed. We didn't really know where we were going. So many people scattered through this hell.

It must have been our fifth time passing the mess against the wall. Sari clamped her hands over her mouth and nose, the foul stench overpowering, and I looked at the floor, trying to pretend there was nothing there. Only Sasuke seemed to keep his head. Then again, he was always so cool and controlled, able to keep his head in even the most dangerous of situations. Something I definitely admired about him. I guess he must have been the first one to notice it. The distant weeping. It sounded almost robotic. When I looked up, Sasuke was already moving to the wall. He stooped to pick something up, and Sari and I ran to see what he had found. It appeared to be an antique doll of some kind, but the weeping was definitely coming from the doll.  
"What is it?" Sari asked before someone behind us cleared his throat.

A blond man, couldn't be more than 19. His eyes were devoid of light and life and his skin seemed translucent. He was dead, I was sure of it.  
The man gave a slight smile. "You know about the ghost children, right?"  
I nodded. "The four children missing their tongues...although I don't get why there's four of them. If one of them survived, she'd still be alive...just very old by now."  
The man shook his head. "That's not the point, un." He gave a nod to the antique doll. "The doll...it belonged to the man who killed those children. The murderer. He's in here, un. I tried to appease the children's souls, but I was unable to before I died. Maybe you can use the doll to calm him, get him to give a real repentance toward the children he killed, un. My companion says the doll was his in life. I believe one way to help put the children to rest would be to return their tongues, but I don't know where you can find them, un."  
Sasuke crossed his arms. "Who's your companion?"  
"None of your business!" The man snapped. The building started to shake. "Must you little freaks stick your nose into anything and everything you can? Just go, before your little friends enrage them once more!"  
"What do you mean?" Sari asked before she could stop herself. The blond just grinned and gestured to the splattered remains.  
"Three little ninja tried to appease two ghosts. A redhead, a Suna girl in a pink shirt and an ugly Konoha kid with a bowl cut and dressed in green." He threw something and I caught it, just. It was a bloodstained forehead protector. Konoha.  
"You...you mean...Lee?" I asked shakily. The blond started to laugh.  
"Rock Lee went splat, like a large, overripe tomato! Splat, splat, splat, squishy squishy splat!"  
"Shut up!" I snapped, hitting out. It didn't connect. When I opened my eyes, he was gone.  
And my eyes were drawn back to the remains of Rock Lee. Suddenly, the solemn silence was broken.  
"Go to the red door. Six steps horse, thirteen paces rooster."  
Sari frowned. "What does that mean?"  
"There was a red door downstairs." Sasuke answered. "It's instructions. Go to the red door, then horse and rooster...it refers to Chinese zodiac, I think." He led the way without another word. "So from the red door, we go...six steps...south...and twelve paces west."  
Of course. Sasuke had always been pretty smart. We followed in silence. The instructions led us to a plain hall. Sari stepped on a creaking, loose floorboard. Frowning, she glanced down at it before pulling it up and reaching in, pulling out a small, hemp bag soaked liberally with blood. She held it out at arm's length with a look of disgust on her face.  
Sasuke arched an eyebrow. "What is it?"  
"I don't know."  
"Open it."  
She paled. "O-open it?"  
"Yes, open it."  
"You open it!" She snapped, shaking her head. Sasuke glared. After a moment of this strange standoff, I grabbed the bag off Sari and opened it. I gave a shout of disgust, looking in. It was an old, severed tongue. It must have belonged to one of the children.  
"Return...it..." All heads turned to that doll. "Return...it..."  
"The tongue?" I clarified, looking at the bag. It had a name written on the side. 'Yoshizawa Ryou'. "It...it must be the boy's tongue."  
The doll spoke again. "Infirmary." Was all it said, so obediently we went up there.

The boy was sat on the beds, curled over. Sasuke took the bag off me and sat beside the boy, shaking the bag before him. "Oi. We have your tongue." He didn't respond. Sasuke held it right up to the boy's eyes. "Take it." Still no response. Swallowing hard, he moved to sit directly in front of the boy. Ryou looked up, locking eyes with Sasuke and paralyzing him. He moaned, and panicking, I ran to them.  
"Yoshizawa Ryou!" He looked to me and I took the tongue off Sasuke, pressing it into the boy's hand. "I know your name, and I know what happened to you...it must have been awful, Ryou. We found your tongue though. We found it, and it's a part of you. We want you to take it back." Slowly, Ryou took back his tongue, placing it in his mouth. After a moment, he started to glow with a bright, white light and then he spoke.  
"Thank you, onee-chan, onii-chan." And then he disappeared and Sasuke gasped for breath. I gripped his arm supportively.  
"Sasuke-kun! Are you okay?" He doubled over, coughing. It didn't last long and just as he opened his mouth to respond, an earthquake shook the school to its very foundations. When it finally stopped, I paused to shake the dust from my hair.  
"That was horrifying." I breathed, looking up to see Sasuke looking at me with something bordering on awe.  
"You...that was...impressive. It was brave of you to confront that thing while it was...killing me."  
"Brave? I felt like any moment I might cry! You don't know how scared I was..."  
He tilted my chin up and my heart fluttered. "Blow your nose." He told me sharply. "It's dribbling snot everywhere."  
A blush overcame my face and I grabbed his shirt, happily obliging and blowing my nose on the cloth. Disgusted, he pushed me away.  
"Come on." He commanded, dragging Sari by her wrist and leading us out of the room. "We have to keep looking for those tongues and return them."

We wandered a little while before the doll spoke again. Well, wept for a moment, then spoke in a rhythmic monotone when all attention was on it.  
"From the stairs...three paces rooster...six paces rat..."  
"Which stairs?" Sari asked, exasperated.  
"We'll just have to see." Sasuke answered after a moment, leading the way once more.

Sari was digging in a crack in the wall. Finally, she pulled out a key. The label to it read 'locker room', so we searched for the matching room. The room itself was dank and wet, with several showers and cubbies for storing belongings. It seemed to double as a changing room for PE. There were bodies inside, as there were in every room so far. Sari opened the far door, only to find a swimming pool filled with floating bodies in stagnant water.

We both jumped when Sasuke hit the floor. He seemed to have fainted. I got down to check him over, but it just seemed like the events from earlier with that spirit boy had caught up to him. He was otherwise unharmed, that spirit had just hurt him.  
I stood after confirming he was okay. "Sari, stay with Sasuke, look after him. I'm going to go explore the poolside. The doll wants us to go here for a reason." On the other end of the pool was a pump room, but the gate to it was locked. Sighing, I went back. The pool wasn't an option, not with all that debris floating around in it. As I headed back to the locker room, I noticed something tucked into a crack on the floor. I dug it out with the metal part of Lee's forehead protector and found it was a key, most likely to the pump room.  
"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE"  
I froze as a splash rang out behind me. I turned in time to see the water in the pool ripple out.  
"S-Sasuke-kun? Sari-san?" I called, worry rising in my gut. No response. I ran back to the locker room. Sasuke was still there, placed into the recovery position. Sari wasn't there. "Shit...shit! Sasuke-kun, wake up! Where's Sari gone?"  
He didn't awaken, and in a panic I rushed back out and jumped into the pool, holding my breath and diving under. It seemed like forever before I grabbed a body. The first body I brought up, however, was the bloated body of a teenage boy who must have drowned there a while ago. I pushed it away in disgust and went back under, searching blindly. The water was filthy, too filthy to keep my eyes open, and even if I could, I wouldn't see anything but filth. Finally, my arms latched around a waist, and I pulled up. Coughing, I cracked open a burning eye to see I'd managed to grab Sari.

I dragged her back to the locker room. She had a pulse but was no longer breathing, so I had to give her mouth to mouth and finally she woke up, coughing violently.  
"Sari-san! Are you okay? What happened? Why the hell did you do that?"  
She looked at me like I was stupid. "You called for my help." She managed in a hoarse voice.  
"No I didn't, I-!"  
"There's something in that pool...you think the spirits here wanted to keep us away from it?"  
I nodded. We tried to wash the gross water off in the showers to no avail, and then went out and rinsed ourselves off in the rain. After that, we went into the pump room and drained the pool. The drain wheel was easy to find. The room shook as the water rushed through. After a moment, we returned to the pool. The bodies now lay on the floor, some dribbling bodily fluids as they rotted away. Sari went straight to the spigot that would send water in if it were functioning and tried to pull something out, but her attempts ended with her falling onto her back, onto one of the bodies. She uttered a shriek and I caught a flash of something red in one of the grates. It wasn't red like blood, more fire hydrant red. Digging it out, I found a valve of some kind.  
"Sari, I found something! I think it's part of the pump room!"  
She came over then and took it from me roughly, rushing to put it in place. Suddenly, a rush of water spurted forth from the spigot. It stopped as suddenly as it started, just dripping then, but a small bag stained liberally with blood had fallen out with the water...

 _Tsuji Tokiko_  
 _  
_"It's one of the girls." I noted as we exited the pool and went back into the locker room. Sasuke was sitting up now, rubbing his head as blood dripped out of his nose. I ran to his side at once, searching my pockets for a tissue. Sari came forward and offered some, a smile on her face, and I helped a dazed Sasuke wipe his nose. After that, I offered him my arm so he could lean against me for support until he felt a little more with it. We walked until we reached the hallway, where we encountered the two ghost girls. They seemed to be wandering aimlessly.  
"Which one's which?" I asked hopelessly. After a moment, Sasuke pointed to the headless girl.  
"It's her."  
"What? How do you know?"  
"Trust me."  
Uncertainly, I followed the headless girl, holding out the tongue bag. "Tsuji Tokiko?"  
The girl stopped, regarding me with a disgusting gurgle, before grasping out blindly. After all, she had no eyes. I held the bag so she would grab it and stepped back as the same blinding white light overtook her and she was finally put to rest.

Two down two to go. Now all who remained were Kanno Yuki and Shinozaki Sachiko.


	7. Kankurou

I'd gone outside to relieve myself near the woods outside the annex in the school. There were bodies near the trees, just like there were indoors. The fence was at chest height. It struck me that I wouldn't be able to get over with a dislocated arm and shattered ribcage. Swallowing anxiously, I braced my good hand against the fence and tried to raise my leg. Just as I managed to hook my knee on the fence, I heard something in the distance.

"Give it back..."

Looking up, I saw the little girl from before. The ghost with the pigtails. Her eye was gone, blood pouring from the socket and staining her jumper. I swallowed nervously, glancing down briefly before looking up again and...

She was right in my face now.

"GIVE IT BACK!" She shrieked. I yelled, pulling away and ending up on my backside. She came through the fence and repeated her pointless request and I scrabbled back with another yell before scrambling to my feet and running back inside. I slammed the door shut. "Temari! God, that little bitch from earlier was out there, jaan. She came after me." I looked up, getting my breath back. "...Temari?" My elder sister was gone. She'd said she'd be right there, but she was gone. Suddenly, the door shook.

"Give it back!"

"Go away!" I yelled. Or at least tried to. It came out as a weak squeak. The door opened bit by bit and eventually I had to abandon it. I ran to the left, but a cabinet fell, blocking my path. The ghost girl was walking slowly, slow enough for me to run past her to the right. She stayed by the main entrance as I ran, ran all the way up to the third floor.

Something thumped against something else. It made a wet yet solid noise. Creeping forward, I saw my friend, Koji. He had his back to me and was hitting something repeatedly with a crowbar. It was the body of the blonde girl from earlier. I think her name was Meno. I swallowed nervously, and Koji suddenly straightened and turned.

"Kankurou." He spoke my name slowly, an unnatural grin on his face. "What a way to find me, doing something like this to a body." He leaned to look over my shoulder. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Is something wrong?"

"I...um..." I couldn't stop looking at the dead girl he'd been beating. Had he killed her? "Temari..." I managed. Koji's grin immediately disappeared, replaced by a look of shock.

"Of course. Your siblings. You're so...family-oriented. I could help you look for them. It's important to protect our comrades after all...something I couldn't do..." I opened my mouth to ask what he meant but he rushed in, getting into my face. "Ameno's dead!" He hissed. I staggered back. "Ameno's dead, and in this place we're all going to join her, but I can help you look for your sister and brother! We can at least die together!" He started laughing hysterically and I shook my head.

"That's okay, jaan. I can look by myself."

He tilted his head to the side, a look of anger overcoming him. "I _said_...I will help you look!" The crowbar collided with the wall beside my head.

I panicked. I couldn't fight in my current state, so I turned and ran, and he followed. Desperately, I fled back to the first floor. I'd managed to gain enough distance between us that he wouldn't see if I ducked into the girls' bathrooms and hid there. I ran in and shut the door as quietly as I could, then turned and remembered I couldn't get into the stalls. And damn it, this running around was seriously aggravating my bladder and my lungs. I sunk to my knees, gasping for air.

I heard the door open and slam shut behind me, followed by a locking sound. Crap, he'd found me.

"Give me back my eye..."

Okay, never mind, even worse. It was the little ghost girl. She had her scissors, I could hear them opening and shutting with a painfully grating _snip snip_ sound. Slowly, shakily, I stood. I couldn't back away and the door was locked, so dodging round, even if I could successfully get past her, would be pointless. Swallowing hard, and knowing I would never be able to fight a _ghost_ , I resorted to the worst possible thing.

Weakly calling for my siblings. "Temari! Gaara! Somebody help me, please!" Tears were managing to escape my eyes. I was beginning to realise I was about to die. Furthermore, I could already tell it wouldn't be pleasant. That kid wanted my eye after all.

God how I hate kids.

"Kankurou!" A voice called.

"Temari? Oh sweet Jesus, Temari, help me!"

The door rattled, the lock clicked and suddenly the door swung wide open. The ghost girl turned to the door, looking confused. I took the opportunity at once, running round and out. I stopped to catch my breath by the main entrance as my body was getting desperate for some proper air, but no matter how hard I tried, it seemed I couldn't get any air in at all. The pain in my chest was traveling up my shoulder and around my back, and when I finally got some air I started coughing. I was starting to think my lung had collapsed or something. I couldn't take any more running today, I knew that much. I also knew I had to get out of here before things got worse. Any more damage and I was liable to kick it there and then.

Once I felt a little better and the coughing had stopped, I staggered to my feet and went back towards the toilets, but before I got through the first doorway, I collided with someone. Shooting pains ricocheted through my upper body and my vision swam. I worried for a moment that I might pass out, but I focused on the person in front of me. A woman with green eyes and blonde hair tied into four pigtails.

"Nee-san!" I snapped. "You promised you'd wait for me! You lied! I've been chased around by ghosts after my eyes and psychos with crowbars and all this with a collapsed lung! Where the hell have you been? What the hell have you been up to? You promised you'd wait!"

I wiped my eyes, not wanting Temari to see me cry, and my vision cleared fully.

The woman in front of me certainly looked like Temari, only she wore a school uniform of some kind. White shirt with the top three buttons undone, purple blazer tied around her waist and short, black skirt. Her blonde hair was tied into four plaits, not pigtails, and she wasn't identical to my sister, not by any means. I felt my cheeks redden with embarrassment. I'd just shouted at a complete stranger.

The stranger offered a kind smile. "I'm afraid you must have me confused for someone else."

"Yeah...sorry, jaan."

"Hmm...you're from Yokohama."

"Sunagakure."

"Similar places." She shrugged, looking around, then checking me out. Her eyes lingered on my injuries and she bit her lip, concerned. She was older than me, and possibly even older than Temari. "You're looking for your sister?"

"Yeah...we were separated not too long ago. I'm also looking for my younger brother."

"I'm looking for my brothers too." She admitted with a shy smile. "The elder one would be about your age, actually. He's probably more than tough enough to look after himself, but I can't help but worry, you know?"

My thoughts flitted to Gaara. It was impossible to explain how worried about him I was. "I know exactly what you mean."

"My name's Kizami Yuuka, by the way."

I nodded. "Ishida Kankurou."

"Cool. Since we're both looking for our siblings, maybe we could search together. After all, this place is dangerous and I fear for even the strongest man here."

Considering I'd need help if I encountered any more danger in the state I was in there and then, I agreed. "Yeah. In a place like this, the living should stick together, jaan."

I went straight to the main entrance, only to find it locked. Strange. Yuuka gestured for me to follow her upstairs and reluctantly, I agreed.

There lay Meno's corpse, no longer being battered by Koji's violent hands. Yuuka approached the body with a sigh. "Meno-san...must have been killed by the ghosts of this school...or maybe even the man with the hammer."

"Man with a hammer?" I asked, shaking a little. "What do you mean?"

"I think he might be the one who killed the ghost children." I tried not to shudder, but she caught it and apologised, offering her hand. I took it and we walked on. Beyond where Koji had been, we found another set of rooms. Most didn't open, but when one finally did, it seemed to just be a plain classroom. One of the desks was open, something like an amethyst inside. Yuuka picked it up, examining it with curious eyes. After a moment, she turned to me.

"Kankurou?"

"Yeah?" I looked up. Once again, Yuuka-san was gazing at me in concern.

"You're...standing funny. Like you need to go to the bathroom or something...you okay?"

I hesitated, looking away and considering whether or not to tell. After a pregnant pause, I heaved a sigh and shook my head. "There's not a single usable toilet in this school, jaan. I just have to hold it until we get out."

"We might find somewhere...there was a bathroom sealed with protective charms. My brother knows a lot about charms. Amethysts may be able to release the charms."

"Feel free to try it, jaan."

She nodded, taking my hand again. A moment of walking and I let a question slip out. "What are your brothers' names?"

"Hiromasa and Teruyoshi." She answered at once. We stopped and I realised we were outside the bathrooms. She hesitantly held the amethyst to the door, and suddenly it shattered, the charms catching fire and burning away. When the fire died down, the door was untouched. Yuuka gestured for me to go in. "There we go, open and usable, hopefully."

I went in, and instantly a powerful stench assaulted my nose. I pulled some of my hood round to cover my nose as I approached the first stall. There were ropes hanging from the rafters, disappearing behind every door. The stench came from whatever hung on the end of each rope. I dreaded having to open the doors, but in the end I forced myself to. It was tough, something blocking it. Eventually, it gave, and the thing blocking the door swung into me.

A rotting body of a young man, younger than Gaara, leaking fluids, liquefied organs and old gunk from the inside that splashed against me, and maggots crawling off it and onto me. I screamed. A proper, girly scream. I ran out, shaking myself off, afraid they'd get inside me. Yuuka stared in shock.

"Kankurou-san?"

"They...they're all full..." I managed before essentially passing out. I hit the ground hard, exhausted, as Yuuka entered to find out what I meant. As I lost consciousness, I heard her laughing hysterically.

When I came to, Yuuka was crouching over me.

"You...you were laughing..." I managed weakly.

"No." Yuuka answered, smirking.

"There...there was a shout...was that you?"

"It wasn't me." She answered, chuckling. The chuckle quickly evolved into a full-blown hysteric laugh. This obviously worried me. I got to my feet and bowed my head.

"Thank you so much for the help, Kizami-san, but I think I'll look for my sister by myself if that's okay."

"What are you talking about, Kankurou?" Yuuka asked, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I _am_ your big sister, after all."

Okay, that definitely wasn't good. I took a deep breath and ducked away, making a break for it again. I made it to the ground floor, and there lay the twisted form of another man. I skidded to a stop before it. He was bleeding to death and had clearly fallen through a hole in the floor above. He was tan, body stitched at every joint, long brown hair covering his face. He coughed, blood staining his locks. For a moment, I forgot the danger I was in, crouching by him. "Shit, are you okay? Hang on, if I rip some of my shirt I could bind your stomach."

He started to say something, but he was too quiet. I leaned in to hear it.

" _Run...get out of here...run...please..._ "

"W-what?"

" _She's...coming...Kizami...she's behind you...run...I'm be...begg...ging...you..._ " The man managed before hacking blood on me. I looked round, scrabbling up, and received a swift kick in the gut for my efforts. My stomach cramped painfully and my bladder finally gave up, making me wet myself. It was not a pleasant experience. Yuuka crouched down, reaching into the man who clearly knew her, tearing him apart while he screamed in agony.

"You know, ototo, people are only truly honest when in their very last moments. In their last moments, when they know they're about to die, they will give one last struggle to survive, showing their true selves, their true values. The one time in their life they don't lie."

Between his throws of agony, the man managed to let out a plea. " _PLEASE! PLEASE, ARGH...AGH...ACK...KHA...RUN...GET OUT...get out...of here...run..._ "

The man was begging for me to get to safety once more. I got to my feet, but almost immediately collapsed into the pool of my own urine, stomach cramping horribly, legs feeling like jelly. I couldn't stand, I couldn't walk away. I was starting to hyperventilate. Finally, with bits and pieces of her friend scattered everywhere, Yuuka turned to me.

"Kakuzu showed a very different side in his final moments. I never thought someone like him could show compassion to a complete stranger." She was approaching, palming a knife from between her breasts. Weird place to keep that, I thought briefly before the fear came back. "The fact is, Kankurou, where we're trapped, there is no escape. Everyone here is doomed to die. Whether you're killed by the spirits here or killed by, say, me, you still die, you still feel the pain of death. And you, my precious, precious ototo, I will protect. I will ensure those ghosts never kill you...by taking your life myself!"

With that, she placed her hand over my exposed rib and pushed me down painfully and held her knife to my stomach...


	8. Hinata

I felt dust or sand or something in my mouth, and got to my feet, spluttering and choking. "W-what is this? Where am I? Hello?" I called out, but there was no response, as though not a single other living soul was here in this building. Everything seemed still and stagnant. I was in a cold, dark room, the air thick and clammy. The place looked like a cave, dug by humans into the earth, with wooden support beams and some wooden walls built in, almost like the emergency shelter back in Konoha. I tried raising my voice and calling again, but I choked again, coughing and spluttering once more. "This can't be real, can it?" I wanted to go home, pretend none of this ever happened.

The reason for my fear could be attributed to the thick, oppressive air. Added to that, the far wall was shattered, the earth disturbed as though a body were buried, about the size of a large dog or small child. Debris littered the ground, including piping and broken glass, and a corpse was propped up in a chair. I decided my top priority would be to find the others. Clearly this was a bad place to be, but I'd fallen through the floor at Shishio-kun's house. Perhaps this was an old, abandoned bomb shelter of sorts that certain buildings in Sunagakure were built upon. Exciting this room, I saw a light to my left and headed towards it. As I approached, however, one of the earth walls collapsed, kicking up dust into my eyes and lungs and blocking my path. This place was definitely dangerous, and I was starting to see why we had fallen through. Perhaps I could talk to Gaara-kun about this afterwards and he could get someone to investigate. I tried to shift some of the rocks, but to no avail.

Wandering north a little, I heard a voice ring out. It sounded like a child singing a lullaby.

 _Kagome kagome_  
 _Bird in the basket_  
 _When oh when will you come out?_  
 _Will it be in the evening of dawn?_  
 _The crane and the turtle have fallen_  
 _So who is it who stands behind me?_  
 _  
_I headed towards the sound, calling out again. If a child was in this place, he must have been frightened, maybe even injured. I needed to find him. The lights flickered and I could have sworn I saw something up ahead, so I rushed forward, but the lights went off and I couldn't see a thing.  
"Hello?" I called. "Little boy?"  
A flame erupted into live before me, accompanied by a blood-curdling scream. I screamed back in the resultant shock. I paused to get my breath back, and saw ahead a set of bathrooms. The boys' room wouldn't open, as though nailed shut, so I went into the girls' room and called out again. "Hello? Anyone in here?"  
The stalls were empty. Skeletal remains sat by one of the stalls, neck twisted. Obviously not the voice I had heard before, and the child must have died in whatever disaster merited the need for this shelter. I bowed in respect and turned back to the stalls. I needed to go, but there was a limit to how disgusting a bathroom stall could be before I would refuse to close myself in there.

I kept heading west, but all that led me to was a dead end. Suddenly, the voices of children started up again. This time, they sounded like they were in pain.  
 _Why? Why?_  
 _Save me...please..._  
 _Help me._  
 _It hurts!_  
 _Please...stop..._  
 _  
_There was more than that little boy, I could hear them, and they were in trouble. I ran out, calling to them, telling them to keep talking, but the voices faded. I hurried past long-dead bodies and sealed doors until I heard another set of voices and stopped. From all around, every direction, were voices goading me into playing.  
 _Come and get me!_  
 _Here, I'm over here!_  
 _Let's play!_  
 _I'm over here!_  
 _I'm over here!_  
 _No, I'm over here!_  
 _No, I'm over here!_  
 _No, I'm over here!_  
 _  
_I kept running until I hit another dead end.  
 _Are you ready yet?_ sang one voice.  
 _Not yet!_ sang the response. Children playing in such an unpleasant place!  
Continuing to explore, I heard more voices singing. The children just wouldn't stop, and I couldn't find them no matter how hard I looked.  
 _You may proceed, you may proceed._  
 _What narrow path is this?_  
 _It is the path of Heavenly Host._  
"Please, stop!" I yelled. "Please, I only want to help you!" Carrying on in the same direction cautiously, I noticed a body different to the others. She was clearly very recently deceased, and her hands were hooked around boards from the wall, as though trying to dig her way out. This didn't fit with my earlier hypothesis at all, and now I was really starting to get scared. I turned back and heard children laughing heartily...and among that laughter, I heard a door open. I avoided the door at first, heading down another path that lead to two more dead ends, one with a fully decomposed body of a young girl, the other with the fresh body of a severely malnourished man, still in the midst of rigor mortis.

Finally, I decided I would allow myself to go to the room where the door unlocked. It was completely dark inside. The only indication of size was the echo of dripping water.  
"H-hello?" I called, leaning my head in. No response that I could hear, but maybe it was obscured by other sounds, or there could have been people inside who were unconscious, that was always a possibility. Swallowing my fear, I entered the dark, foreboding room. A putrid smell assaulted my nostrils, like the smell of something meaty sliced open and left to rot. My leg brushed against a bucket, spilling the wet, chunky contents over my lower legs. With a cry of disgust, I slapped my hand against my trousers to knock whatever was on them away. The smell was metallic and vile, bitter like blood on the site of a slaughter. I'd seen them before on missions. Something other than blood had gotten onto my hands though, and they were moving and wriggling. Bugs, perhaps?

A light flickered on, the electronic hum vying for my attention. I looked up and saw a true site of slaughter, just as I had imagined. There was a wooden table upon which countless creatures had met their grisly end, no doubt, a blood-stained cabinet, a desk piled high with bodies and tools, and buckets all over the floor filled with various bits and pieces of human limbs and viscera. Blood and still more organs decorated the walls in a vile pattern of sickening violence and cruelty. There was even a bucket of human arms sticking up as though waving. Looking down at myself, I saw there were indeed bugs on me. Maggots crawling up my trouser leg and around my hand. I quickly brushed them off, trying not to let the blood-splattered room get to me. The worst part was, none of the blood seemed dry. All the deaths seemed frighteningly recent. Stepping back to the door, I accidentally plunged my foot into one of the buckets, causing it to overflow. It had tongues in it. Human tongues.

I screamed. They were sticking to me, stuck inside my sandals. I could handle bugs no problem, I was friends with Shino after all, but this was just too much. In the midst of my screams my ears tuned in shockingly well to my surroundings. I could hear great, heavy footfalls that couldn't possibly belong to one of the young ninja I'd arrived with. My stomach tightened, killing the next scream in my throat. I stifled any other screams with my hands, whimpering as I looked desperately for somewhere to hide. I pulled open the cabinet, and met with some resistance as it was the kind that automatically opened and closed when you pushed in or left it. I jammed myself in and forced the door shut, fingers burning as the metal formed welts in my flesh. I clamped my hands over my mouth once I was hidden, tears streaming from my eyes. I prayed for the owner of the footsteps to pass by the room, but surely they belonged to the same person who turned on the lights, so there wasn't much hope there. Worst case scenarios flashed through my mind as my shoulders shook with sobs and panic. I shut my eyes tight and willed myself to stay silent.

I dared to peak through the gaps in the door and my fears were confirmed. I was no longer alone in this room. A great, hulking form shuffled into view, moaning as it went. He wasn't quite human, but not really anything else either. Although, maybe he was human. He had a grotesque face and abnormally large body, and shuffled about like a zombie. He had the limp form of a redheaded girl thrown over his shoulder. He threw her down violently onto the blood-soaked table in the centre of the room. The girl let out a moan of agony and coughed, or maybe they were sobs. Then she started screaming. I think her legs had been severed at the thigh!  
"NOOOOOOO!" The girl tried to weakly struggle, but it was clear it was taking all her energy just to scream. The not-quite-man straddled her waist and fastened her wrists into the table restraints. What was he planning to do with her? The girl gave a weaker moan, shaking her head slowly.

Oh god! He's coming this way!

I pushed myself into the corner, curling up and praying to anyone who would listen that I wouldn't be found. Someone was definitely listening, because the man walked right past the cabinet and over to the table piled high with tools. He clumsily took an armful and brought them back to the table, dropping several before dumping the rest on the table. He then bent low to pick up the ones he had dropped. If I had hidden under one of the tables, I'd have been found there and then.

He sorted through his tools and pulled out a pair of pliers, straddling the girl once more. She'd stopped crying and struggling, now just whimpering. I feared what he might do with those pliers. The room fell into silence that seemed to stretch into eternity before the man forced the pliers into the girl's mouth. She cried out and gagged, moaning once more, trying to enlist help that would never come. He kept forcing the pliers back, back until they must have been in her throat. Then he readjusted his grip and clamped down hard on the base of the girl's tongue, yanking up in one, rough, powerful motion and tearing it from her mouth. All through, she continued her weak sounds of agony and wordless pleas for mercy. Her mouth frothed over and she shuddered violently before all movements ceased suddenly. Tears streamed down my face and I began to pee uncontrollably. Urine was pooling across the bottom of the cabinet. If it leaked out, it would give away my position! I forced myself to stop, stomach cramping at the sudden refusal, but I didn't care as long as I didn't get killed. The man tossed the new tongue into the bucket I had stepped into before and the pliers into a nearby toolbox with a loud clatter, then grabbed the bucket of tongues and left the room.

Somebody had just died right before my eyes. She had just been murdered. I had to leave. if I stayed, he might find me, kill me too! I slowly emerged from the cabinet.

The redheaded girl was still chained to the table, mouth completely filled with blood, more blood staining her shirt, eyes bloodshot. She almost looked alive, albeit gravely wounded. I sobbed again, running out of the room at a speed I never thought I could muster. I never, ever wanted to experience something like that again as long as I lived.


	9. Matsuri

Another earthquake shook the very foundations of the building. I swear it had been constantly on and off since I'd woken up. I had a pounding headache after that monster with the hammer had hit me and dragged me away. I'd woken up in a tight, narrow room with dirt floor, and no-one was around me, so I was easily able to escape. There was a wet rope ladder leading up, and I came out in the girls' bathroom. Since then I'd been looking for Gaara. I had been so worried after he'd run off. He had just seen a close friend die, after all. Travelling down the hall, I heard what sounded like...crying. I rushed ahead as the shaking died down.  
"Temari-san?" I called in shock as I approached a crouched figure. She quickly moved to wipe her eyes and looked up.  
"Matsuri!" She stood, moving to look me over. "Jeez, your head's bleeding!"  
"I'm fine, Temari-san." She didn't look hurt. "Have...have you seen anyone else?"  
"Not for a while now...I was traveling with Kankurou before, but we got separated. I thought I heard him call out to me, but..." She cut off with a sigh.  
"I haven't seen him." I admitted. "I saw Gaara earlier-"  
"Where did he go? Why aren't you with him now?"  
"He...ran off. After that I got hit on the head. I couldn't go after him. I've been looking for him this whole time."  
Temari gave a slight nod. "Have you traveled far?"  
"No." We started walking, feeling somewhat forlorn.

After a long time, we approached the front doors, however there seemed to be no point in trying to open them without the others with us. A spirit sat in the corner, but we did our best to ignore him. My eyes were drawn to a body lying nearby. She had her wrists slit and was covered in blood. The thing that interested me, however, was an open student ID. It belonged to the dead girl, clearly, and proclaimed her name to be Hina. Inside, she had written in what I hoped was red ink.  
 _Ao is my love. I love her so very much, I can't let anything happen to her. I will protect her with my life, especially from that pig, Mitsurigi. These ghost children will never get her..._  
I flipped a page.  
 _Unforgivable. I thought we were friends. I hope you die in agony._  
Leaving that, we kept walking. We entered a classroom, but all we found in there was a paper charm. We turned to leave, heading back down the hall when suddenly the spirit grabbed our shoulders.  
"Ghot you!"  
I screamed, crunching the paper charm in my hands. Suddenly it burned, and the spirit disappeared in a bright light. I staggered back and Temari caught me. We carried on walking the halls until we found the body of a boy, another crumpled piece of paper beside him.

 _It wasn't long ago that I was wishing for some great disaster to help alleviate the boredom of everyday life. I guess I should've been careful what I wished for. Now, all I want to do is return to that peaceful, uneventful life I was living back home. Those days spent laughing, scowling or crying may not have seemed like much, but they were what life is all about. Here, there's just suffering._  
 _  
_ _I never realized how much it hurt to go for even one single day without eating anything. And I'm so thirsty, I feel like I could die at any moment. Mummy, please... I need my dinner..._  
 _  
_I dropped the paper, despair washing over me. Not too much later, we encountered another corpse with more torn paper around it. This paper was illegible however, but seemed to be complaints about the boy we had found before. There were notes tacked here and there that contradicted one another.  
 _Fate can be changed._  
 _Fate never changes._  
Well, which one was it?  
Near our latest deceased find, we found a key with a note saying 'do not use under any circumstances.

We walked in silence. I felt strangely uncomfortable around Temari. Maybe it was because she knew of my feelings for Gaara. Maybe it was because it felt wrong to be so scared for him when Temari was his sister, and was worried sick about her brothers. I just didn't want to dare upset her.  
Then I had to turn to her. "Temari-san...do you hear that?"  
She raised her head, trying to listen. There was a frantic yelling coming from down the hall, alongside the sound of someone begging the frantic voice to calm down, stop struggling. We hurried to the locker room, and what we saw shocked us.

Shikamaru-san was pressed up against one of the sets of cubbies, trying desperately to keep a marble bust from falling. The bust was tied with bandages, some leading up to the ceiling where they kept a large bucket suspended, and some leading to the ground where they bound a young girl with long, ginger hair, partially tied into a ponytail, and fair skin. She was struggling and giving shouts of fear, but the more she struggled, the more it pulled on the bust. If the bust fell, the bucket would upturn and spill its contents over her face. The girl had bandages criss-crossed over her eyes and ears, and probably couldn't see or hear a thing. Temari took charge at once.  
"Matsuri, untie the bandages around the girl's eyes and ears, try and get her to calm down. I'll help Shikamaru." She ran to do just that and I started tugging at the bandages, biting my lip. Finally, they were free, showing beautiful brown eyes, filled to the brim with terror as she continued to struggle.  
"Help!" She shrieked all of a sudden. "Help! Amaru! Shion! Shizuka! Anyone, please!"  
"Calm down, it's okay, we're here to help!" I insisted loudly, but she shook her head.  
"Help! Save me!"  
I slapped her, hard. "Listen! We'll get you free, I promise."  
Slowly, the woman calmed down, relaxing. Or at least becoming as relaxed as one can in this situation. The bust became steady and I was given the go ahead to carefully untie the girl's bindings. Slowly, I helped her sit up, and she wiped her eyes. Temari and Shikamaru came over to see how she was.  
The woman slowly became open to us.  
"Thank you! Thank you so much! I don't know what happened to me, someone really strong just sneaked up behind me and knocked me out and when I came to, I was all tied up like you found me!"  
"It's okay." I insisted. "I've encountered the same man, I think...my name is Matsuri. These are my friends, Temari and Shikamaru."  
"M-my name is Fuuma Sasame." Sasame stated before sobbing. I stroked her back in a calming manner.  
"It'll be alright, Sasame-san. You're safe now, we'll help protect you."  
She nodded, wiping her eyes again. "You...you saved my life."  
"Never expected someone to say I'd saved their life and mean it." Shikamaru muttered, smirking.  
"Shikamaru, Matsuri, Temari..." She seemed to be running the names around in her head. "Are you looking for your friends as well?"  
"That's right." I answered, offering a calm smile. My mind flashed to Lee briefly, but I shook it off. I was aware how dangerous this place was, but for now it was best if I didn't worry the girl. Plus it put me on edge, knowing exactly who had hurt her and knowing a man like that...large, horrifying...dead...it made me feel so close to panicking it was unreal. "Maybe while we're searching for our friends, we can keep an eye out for yours as well, Sasame-san."  
She brightened at once. "Would you? That would be absolutely wonderful!"

Slowly, we went back to our investigation. Shikamaru explained that, apart from the three of us, he hadn't seen a single other living soul. He'd heard a lot of sounds that worried him, certainly. After I explained what happened with Gaara, he answered that he wasn't surprised. I didn't understand everything he said after, but what was made clear was that Nara-san believed a sensor-type ninja would likely be more vulnerable to the effects of this place. He even pressed with concerns that Uzumaki Naruto-san would suffer similarly. We got to the front doors and Sasame weakly tried to pull open the doors, but my eyes were drawn to something within one of the shoe cubbies. It seemed to be a ball of wadded up paper, but there was something inside. I unfolded the paper and found what looked like candles, but as the others approached, I noticed something more. The objects were white, but at the thick, base end, they were stained with something red and wet. There were ten of them, and each one had a fingernail with copious amounts of dirt and blood lodged under them, painted with chipped pink varnish. As Sasame saw them, she paled considerably. I may have been shaking when I returned them to the cubby.  
"Sasame-san?"  
"It...it's nothing...I just thought I recognised...never mind."  
We walked along a little longer, finding nothing of value as it went. Just notices warning us not to trust people. (It wasn't like Sasame could kill us though.)

No classrooms would open, and eventually, we came across a hole in the floor. Inside, we could see something faintly attempting to reflect the weak light from above. The hole was too large to navigate around safely, so we turned back, heading towards the third floor. There hadn't been much there earlier, just a locked library and a body, but now the stairs were blocked by a collection of spirits, whispering to one another.  
"That body...I need that body..."  
"So good, he has to accept us in"  
"You can't stop us, you living. We're taking him, he is ours!"  
When Shikamaru took a step forward, the flame-like spirits bristled and flared, presenting a dangerous path. In the end we had to duck back. The Konoha ninja paused after a moment of walking.  
"That hole...we might be able to go down it."  
"We don't know how deep it goes before it bottoms out." Temari pointed out.  
"If we use the gauze bandages from the locker room, we could make a rope. They seem very strong and should hold our weight, no bother."  
At first, Temari looked like she was going to argue, but then Nara-san was a srategist, so it was more than likely he knew what he was talking about. He grabbed the bandages and knotted them into a makeshift rope, then returned to the hole and set about tying one end around his waist.  
"We'll be able to get whatever lies within that hole, but there's nothing on this end to tie it to, so we'll likely have to hold it steady." I observed. "But that shouldn't be a problem. Temari and I wield heavy weaponry all the time."  
Shikamaru paused, looking into the hole. "Although the two of you rely more on your weapons, so if something were to come you'd be at a disadvantage unless I stayed up here and one of you went down there."  
"I think I should go." I answered at once, taking the rope from him. After all, I was usually the one in need of protecting and saving, but I really was a more than capable kunoichi. This time, I wanted to be the one needed for the sake of others, so I decided I would help. I would protect them and help them. "I'd be able to climb up and down without any trouble, and if there's any danger down there, the two of you could pull me up quickly, and faster still if Sasame helps."  
After a brief moment's thought, Nara-san seemed to agree. Next I knew, I had one end of the rope tied tight around my waist. It was tight enough to hurt, but I didn't say anything. It was better than it coming loose and dropping me to my demise. Slowly, I began my descent. I didn't make it far before the foul stench from below hit me, making me gag, but still I continued down. Ninja were meant to endure, after all.

The room at the bottom had an oppressive atmosphere and was so dark. What little light filtered in showed blood-splattered walls and something...well, lots of somethings...scattered throughout the room. I think I could even see a pool of what I hoped was water, but was very dark and murky. On further investigation, I found the dark shapes were bodies in various states of decay, some fresh and still warm. I moved over to one girl who had clearly only just died within the last few hours. Her white-blonde hair reached her waist, purple eyes gazing blankly at nothing in particular, shock frozen on her face. All her fingers had been removed, and by her mutilated hands lay an object weakly attempting to reflect the weak light. This must have been the object we'd seen from above. I scooped it up and began my climb back up.

The item was a clear glass bottle, filled to the two thirds mark with clear liquid. It looked like it could be water. Temari took it, examining it with a frown. "What the heck is this, sake?"  
"It doesn't smell or anything," I answered with a shrug, although my sense of smell could have been numbed by that vile stench from below.  
"Oh! That's holy water!" Sasame stated, smiling. "My friend, Shion, had a bottle just like it. It's a sort of protective charm infused with the power of a powerful medium, it's meant to ward off evil spirits and grant good luck with love or money."  
"Is this something you can buy?" I asked, turning the bottle over in my hands.  
"You can get it online, but my friend Shion is a priestess, she infused her bottle with her own powers...you don't think this could be Shion's bottle, do you? Is Shion down there?!"  
"I don't know." I admitted, although the evidence made it seem likely. "It could be someone else's bottle. If you can get it off the internet, then other people are bound to have bottles. And even if it is her bottle, maybe she just dropped it down there."  
Shikamaru seemed to be in thought. "You said it wards off evil spirits, right? Perhaps we could use it to get past the spirits on the staircase."  
"The one leading to the reference room?" I looked back to the holy water and nodded. "Right, let's go."

The spirits were still there, arguing over this supposed body. I think Temari must have lost her temper, because she just snatched the water and threw the entire bottle at them. It smashed, dousing a good part of the staircase. Inhuman screams came forth from the spirits.  
" _It burns! It burns like acid!_ "  
" _You're still alive, you bastards! Isn't that enough for you?_ "  
" _Die! Just die!_ "  
With that, the spirits flew right at her in what was clearly meant as a hostile action. Shikamaru moved quickly, hands out in front of him to take the full brunt of the spirits' attack and spare Temari.  
"Shikamaru!"  
The spirits faded, and he shook his hands out, seemingly unaware something had dropped from his kunai pouch. "It's fine. Just a few burns."  
"I have some ointment in my bag." I told him, instantly looking through it. "Huh? What?!"  
"What's wrong?" He came to me, the girls following after quickly.  
"N-nothing...I just can't find my ID..."  
"Isn't that it in your hand?"  
I glanced at the ID I'd picked up and shook my head quickly. "Oh, no, this belongs to one of the dead students in this school..." The others started to give me weird looks, so I quickly explained myself. "There were some interesting passages and drawings. These two pages are stuck together just after an entry says two of the girl's friends are going to...kill each other...and the girl says she has to seal Ao away for safety..." I handed it to Shikamaru, open on the entry I meant.  
" _I need to hide her. Ao is mine, and mine alone. She must be protected. If I hide it in that box, no one will ever find it._  
 _  
_ _Ao, I love you so much._ "  
He managed to peel the sealed pages apart without damaging them. They had been stuck together with blood. Bloody fingerprints decorated the page, around a shaky ballpoint drawing of an ornamental box. There was also a picture of the key I had found earlier, pointing to the box.

" _I've sealed Ao in the reference room. Ayaka's going to kill her. I can't let her find her under any circumstances. I'll hide the key somewhere Ayaka will never find it. I will protect Ao with my life. Ao, I love you so much._ "  
Sasame gestured to the item Shikamaru had dropped. "That box you dropped looks just like the one in the picture."  
I was the first one to reach it and lift it, opening it with ease. It was a music box that played a nostalgic tune. Shikamaru took it and tried to dig whatever was inside out, but his fingers wouldn't fit inside the tiny thing. I took it back, upturned it and shook it until the key tumbled out. I lifted it with a triumphant yell. "We can get into the reference room now!"

Upstairs was nothing of interest beyond the reference room, but something stopped us before we could go in and check it out. "Can...can anyone else hear a voice?"  
Frowning, Temari gave a slight nod and pressed her ear to the reference room door. There was an incoherent babbling from within, speaking pure nonsense, but...  
"Gaara!" Temari held her hand out for the key. "That's definitely Gaara's voice!" She twisted the lock open violently, her sisterly protectiveness shining through as she yanked the door wide open. A body had been propped up against the door, and as it opened, spilled out into the hallway. The two of us completely ignored it, letting Shikamaru and Sasame worry about it, as there by one of the book shelves stood our young Kazekage. He was reading something at a shocking speed, and behind him were several other discarded books. By the looks of it, he had carelessly tossed them over his shoulder once finished with them. He was still muttering to himself.  
"The curve on the other side causes a turnover on the nine ball joints that look like a fish in the hourglass geoglyph, with a white shoe instead of a needle..."  
"Gaara! Get a hold of yourself!" Temari snapped. This made him turn, however the look on his face was one of murderous rage.  
"Be quiet! This is supposed to be a library! Libraries are supposed to be quiet! Honestly, what do you uncultured troglodytes expect to accomplish with your mindless gossip?"  
I stepped forward, reaching to take his hand, but he threw the book in his hand at us.  
"What's this ringing in my ears? Is it bugs? Is it bugs?! They're all over me, crawling all over, what have you done?! It was so quiet in here too! Now look what colours you've let in! Silver, huh?! Green, maybe?!"  
"Oi!" We turned to Shikamaru as he spoke up now. "Whatever spirit has taken control of Gaara, get out of him now! That's a human being there, not your little plaything."  
Suddenly, an unnaturally wide grin stretched the redhead's features. "He's ours. I'm going to make this body mine. Not a chance! I'm better at using him than both of you combined! It's only when we're inside this child that our pain subsides, so please, won't you let us have him? Give him to us, and...what if we help you? Save you even? We can aid you in your escape, if you just let us have the child..."  
"Listen, I totally get you're in pain and it's awful, but you were alive once too, you knew the value of life then, and if you intended to keep Gaara, I would never accept your help. No matter what you could give me, it wouldn't be worth sacrificing the life of a friend!"  
"Oh ye of sound mind...we're in agony and cold and thirsty and hungry and mad, but you, you're still alive! You have yet to truly understand our plight. You are still blessed with life!"  
Temari joined in with Shikamaru's indignant shouts. "I don't give a shit! You can't have him!"  
Suddenly, he stopped, a calm look on his face. "Yellow...it was yellow!"  
"Gaara?" I asked, starting to really fear for not only him, but ourselves as well.  
He turned to me, fixing his soulless, cold eyes on me, the only lights shining within were shimmers of malicious intent. "Brother? Is that you? You're late...I'm so hungry, it's been so long since my last meal..." He began to advance on me, and it was so hard to stand my ground. I knew his strength from personal experience, as he was my sensei. "Hina sealed me up in here," We looked to the remains of the girl. It was her spirit controlling him! "I haven't eaten a single thing since then. Not a single bite. Nothing at all. Mmm, brother...you look delicious, brother. Is it bad that I want to taste your succulent flesh, feel your blood running down my throat?" He gripped my shoulders, hands like vices and leaned in to my neck. His breath felt hot and heavy at my jugular and suddenly he bit down, hard. I bit my tongue to keep from crying out as he worked to take a chunk of my flesh away, pulling back to savour his hellish meal. Suddenly, his head rocketed back. Temari had grabbed him by the hair, and I could hear Shikamaru and Sasame yelling. I held out a hand to stop them and looked up, my eyes locking with Temari's. She understood, despite my violent shivering, and released her brother's hair. He had blood around his lips now, some even smudged over one cheek, some dribbling down his chin. I could feel it on my neck and shoulder, soaking into my shirt. Slowly, I placed my hand on the back of his head and once again lowered him carefully to my chest, resting his head there where he could rest and be safe, and just as slow and careful, Temari joined the embrace, cradling her youngest brother as though he were made of fragile glass and may shatter at any moment.  
"G-Gaara..." I managed. "Gaara, this isn't you. Come back to me, please. Come back to us. We love you... _I_ love you. You're our Gaara, our precious friend. Please come back to us.  
"So...so warm..."  
Slowly, the lights returned to his eyes and he raised his arms, wrapping them around my waist. Temari stopped stroking his hair and stepped back so he could raise his head, and when he did, he went red as he realised he had once more been pressed against my chest. That quickly faded to a shocked pallor. "Matsuri..."  
"Gaara, you're back..."  
"You're injured..."  
"It's nothing."  
"You're bleeding and shaking..." He reached into his pockets and pulled out what looked like a handkerchief, pressing it against the wound on my neck. I didn't have the heart to tell him he was the one who injured me. Reluctantly, I let him tend to my injuries, holding back any shows of pain. He seemed to be trying to spit something out without being too obvious. He could taste the blood and didn't seem to know why.  
"Gaara!" Temari called in relief.  
"Thank god you're alright." Shikamaru sighed. Gaara turned to them, eyes wide.  
"What...where? What's going on? Where did you come from?"  
"We found you in this room, possessed by a spirit of some kind." Shikamaru explained. "How did you get in here anyway? This room's been locked since I got here."  
"I...have no idea...the building seems to change its layout at will though...I've been...under the influence of those spirits for a while...so I suppose anything is fair game. Now, I'd say we have three objectives here. First, we need to look into the reasons why this place is the way it is. Specifically, we need to find out more about the beings who control it. Then we need to interact with those beings and try to dig up some means of getting out of here alive. And finally, once we've figured that out, we need to actually make it happen. That's pretty much it."  
Shikamaru shook his head. "I think you're forgetting the most important objective. We have to find our friends."  
Gaara looked confused for a moment, then shook his head. "That goes without saying. That is our first step. Once we find the others, we can focus on the rest."  
"And help Sasame here find her friends too." I added.  
"Let's not get careless though." Shikamaru warned. "None of this is going to be easy. Even so, we don't give up, we don't give in." We turned to Temari, finding she had picked up one of the books Gaara had discarded earlier.  
"Temari-san?" I asked, stepping closer.  
"Heavenly Host..." She read aloud. "That's here, right?"  
I nodded. "Seems like it."  
" _Serial kidnapping and murder at Heavenly Host Elementary, 1973. Dashing the hopes and prayers of their worried parents, three of the kidnapped children return home tonight in body bags. Local police gave an official statement at around 4:00 yesterday afternoon. Yuki Kanno, 11, Ryou Yoshizawa , 8 and Tokiko Tsuji, 7, previously reported missing, were found dead in a basement room beneath the school. The circumstances behind their murders are still under investigation, and a suspect with ties to the school's teaching staff is in questioning._ _First respondents report a shocking, grisly murder scene, and have expressed concerns at even allowing the families of the deceased to see their children. Significant mutilation is said to have occurred, and officials believe the sight of this may exacerbate the already delicate mental states of the bereaved._ _The sole survivor of this unspeakable crime is 7-year-old Sachiko Shinozaki, who remains in shock from the experience. Her testimony may prove invaluable toward closing this case and putting this horror behind us, however, so police are anxious to question her._ _Meanwhile, other parents have already begun calling Heavenly Host's safety procedures into question in the wake of this tragedy. Members of the PTA have-_ "  
It cut out there and she put the paper down. Gaara gestured to an image on the page.  
"That is the soul survivor?" He asked, frowning. "She is in this school as well. I know I've seen her." Strange. I hadn't seen her, and we'd not been here long before I found him.  
"What...?" We turned to Sasame, encouraging her to ask her question. "What do you think happened to the murderer?"  
"He's in the school." Gaara stated at once, causing the redheaded girl to pale.  
" _Accused child murderer commits suicide._ " Temari read, frowning. " _The 32-year-old former teacher believed to have committed the now infamous adolescent kidnappings and murders was found dead early yesterday morning. After being deemed mentally unfit to take responsibility for his actions, he was placed in intensive psychiatric care, but escaped two nights ago._ _The psychiatric ward commissioned a manhunt which culminated in the discovery of his hanged body in a room beneath Heavenly Host Elementary School, near the site of his shocking triple homicide. The cause of death was ruled as strangulation and is strongly believed to be self-inflicted. As this appears to be a show of remorse, previously thought beyond his mental capacity, his psychiatric ward has come under heavy fire since the discovery._ "  
"Guess there's not a happy ending for anyone." Sasame mumbled, hugging him. "Though the parents were probably happy to see him go."  
"There was the girl who survived." Gaara pointed out. "Although it's strange...not one single comment from her or her family...not even a word about her after the event itself."  
I gave a hum of thought. "Probably on request."

We left the reference room after that. Gaara seemed very drained after the possession ordeal, so I helped support him. I had to admit I too was getting very tired. "I wonder how much time has passed since we got here." I mumbled, rubbing my eye with my free hand.  
Temari shrugged. "I don't think I can trust my watch in a place like this."  
Gaara nodded. "If space is being changed round at random, there's no reason to believe the same isn't happening to time."  
Shikamaru stretched his hands out behind his head. "I trust my stomach, and it's telling me dinner time has been and gone."  
Sasame looked to the floor. "I have to admit, I am hungry..."  
I gave a hum of agreement. "Maybe we should add finding food to our priorities list." I stumbled, blood loss and exhaustion getting to me. "I think we need to find somewhere to rest as well."  
"I'd like that." Gaara agreed. "I admit I am tired."  
Temari gave us a gentle smile and gestured for us to sit. "You two rest, we'll make sure nothing causes any trouble."  
I agreed to that happily, sliding onto my bottom and pulling Gaara down beside me. He hugged my arm, resting his head on my shoulder and almost instantly his breath became even and gentle as he fell asleep. I licked my thumb and brushed it against his lips, trying to wipe away the blood. It had clearly been distressing him before, so I thought it might help. I shut my eyes then, resting my head against his.

"They must be exhausted." Sasame commented. "Matsuri-san sure went through a lot to get him back, after all."  
I could hear Temari's smirk in her voice. "It's clear to anyone they're very fond of one another. The only ones who don't see it are them. I'm just waiting for the moment they actually get a clue and announce my new sister-in-law."  
I heard the girls laugh and hoped I didn't blush.  
"They really look so cute together." Sasame agreed, a tone of bliss in those words. I wondered if that was really so. Would we make a good couple?  
It was somewhat refreshing to be able to think normal thoughts in a situation like this.  
"So, how about you two? What's going on?"  
Temari and Shikamaru made noises of shock and horror.  
"Oh, no, we're not a couple."  
"Nothing's going on, we're just friends! He's my little brother's age anyway."  
I smirked. It seemed we weren't the only ones incapable of admitting our true feelings.  
Sasame's skeptical voice rang out. "Uh huh. Sure. And the hand holding and little looks are just friendship too."  
"There's nothing between us." Temari insisted. "Besides, I have more important things to worry about than that right now."  
"You want to find your friends?"  
"And my other brother..."  
Shikamaru spoke up next. "Maybe Naruto and Hinata will be together, looking after one another, just like Gaara and Matsuri."  
"I...I really want to find my friends too."  
A painful silence covered us like a blanket of shadows. Then, I heard someone shift, and Sasame spoke again.  
"I think I might go scout around for my friends again real quick. I need to go to the bathroom anyway."  
Without giving us time to respond, Sasame left, calling over her shoulder as she went. "I'll only be gone a moment, I promise!"  
I sat forward, and then Temari grabbed Shikamaru's arm. "Go with her."  
"To the girls' bathroom?"  
"She can't go alone, it's far too dangerous. Go with her!"  
"Why can't you? You're both girls."  
She simply turned her gaze to her younger brother. I'd never seen her so distressed, but the fact was she had already lost Kankurou. She'd even said the last she'd been near him, she had heard him _screaming_. No wonder she was distressed. Seeing this as well, Shikamaru placed a hand on her shoulder.  
"Okay, I'll go after her." He got up and hurried off, and Temari kept staring at her brother. She didn't mind that I had my arm looped protectively around him, so I kept it there.  
"Temari-san?" She glanced at me briefly, but almost instantly looked away. "Kankurou's tough, you know. I don't think he'd ever let this place get him down, no matter what."  
"But-"  
"No matter what. He's also a lot smarter than people give him credit for, you know. He'd be able to survive somewhere like this no bother, I'm sure of it. We'll find him before anything bad can happen, I promise."  
She stared at me, not believing, but nodded anyway. "Thanks..."  
We stayed sat there a while before Shikamaru came back.

Sasame wasn't with him. He looked pale, almost grey, and the expression he held...I can't explain it. He looked like he might throw up.  
"Shikamaru..." Temari began shakily, "where's Sasame?"  
He shook his head quickly. "I...I didn't find her in time...she...her legs had been cut off. She's gone."


	10. Sasuke

After we returned the tongue of Tokiko Tsuji, the third ghost began to chase us. Panicking, we ran until we noticed the fourth and final spirit child. The spirit in the red dress turned and headed into the nearby stairwell. As we stopped there, the antique doll began to weep once more. I looked down at it, unimpressed. The girls either side of me were bedraggled, filthy and stinking, and the dark ways of this place were starting to get to me.

"Here we go again." Sari sighed. "Where the hell's it going to take us this time?"

"Where your friend was splattered."

The three of us froze. I could tell that was a definite no for the girls, and if I'm completely honest I wasn't too eager to go digging around in the splattered remains of a comrade.

"The floorboards beneath that wall.

Right underneath his globby entrails

Drip drop drip drop

Smelly smelly icky icky

Get in there good and

DIG IT OUT"

After that point, the monotone ended, replaced with a hysteric cackling. I threw it violently down the stairs, a scowl clouding over my face.

"That's sick." I stated evenly. "You sick son of a bitch."

Sakura shook her head, tears in her eyes. "If that's where the next tongue is, I don't think we can ever get it! I can't touch it!"

"Is someone there?" The three of us turned as a familiar girl approached.

"Yukata-chan!" Sari cried, rushing in to embrace her friend.

"Sari-chan!" She cried back, hugging back tight. Her hands were coated in blood. Sakura had noticed it as well. As well as the blood soaked hemp bag in her hands.

"What are you holding, Yukata?" I asked her evenly. She and Sari broke apart and she looked to it sadly.

"I found it in the floorboards in the hallway, just up these stairs." We all stared at the dark haired girl in shock, and she stared back blankly, eyes devoid of hope or joy...something had happened to break her spirit. It may well have been that the Yukata Sari knew was dead and gone, replaced by a soulless, emotionless wreck walking in her place. "Is it some form of charm? Do you want it? I have no use for charms." She walked on, continuing down the stairs, not even acknowledging me or Sakura properly. Sari shuddered as she looked at the bag in her hands. As with the others, there was a name written on the front.

 _Kanno Yuki_

I turned to Sari, not sure what to say.

"She dug in Lee's guts!" Sari shrieked, dropping the tongue bag.

Sakura picked up the bag and I spoke up. "I think Yukata may have lost to this place."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"The girl you know is no longer in there. This place has brutally dismantled her. She's been so emotionally damaged, she's as good as dead."

We went downstairs. The girl there was missing an eye, but all we had was the tongue. Hopefully it would be enough. She approached us, repeating the demand to return something to her over and over. I approached her, holding the tongue bag before me like a shield. "Kanno Yuki?"

She responded. We had the right girl. After a moment, she lowered her head, sobbing, and began rocking back and forth.

"This is your tongue, isn't it?" I asked, trying to keep my voice from shaking. Slowly, she reached out and took the bag. Once more, that same white light filled the room.

"Thank you very much."

And then she was gone and I was shaking. Whenever I spoke to these ghosts, it felt like every bit of heat was being sucked out of me, followed by my very essence and my life. It was something I never wanted to experience more than once, but here I'd been through it three times. Three horrific, unforgettable times.

Sari and Sakura seemed pumped. "Alright!" Sari yelled. "Three down, now we just need to take care of the girl in the red dress and-"

"No!" I'd shouted out before I realised what I was doing. "No more! Every time I talk to these spirits it's like I'm getting closer to death myself, like everything's being sucked out of the flesh and bone shell that is my body! I can't take it!" The girls regarded me with sorrowful concern. "Sakura, you returned Tokiko's tongue to her, surely you know what I mean."

She nodded. "Like my very essence is being wrenched out through every orifice..."

"I want to go home." I managed, shaking my head quickly.

Sari sighed. "Don't worry. I'll return the final tongue bag, okay? Then we can all get out of here, toge-" She was cut off when once again the foundations of the building were thrown off kilter, throwing all three of us to the floor. I think I must have passed out, because when I next woke up, I was stretched out on Shishio's bed.

Everything still seemed so vivid, so real, so it couldn't have been a dream. Sakura and Sari were both on the floor, so I quickly went to awaken them.

"Sasuke...kun...?" Sakura asked before sitting up and groaning. "Oh, what happened?"

"We're back! It's over!"

"No kidding...where are the others?"

"I don't know. Maybe they woke up before us." I opened the door out into the hall. The lights were out, the hall pitch black. Then the girls started screaming. I rushed back in to see some kind of dark, ethereal mass in the corner of the room, hands seemingly made of shadow reaching out to us.

"What the hell is this?" I snapped.

"It's not over." Sari whimpered. "Why isn't it over?"

The spirit of the third girl came out of the dark mass, and I panicked. I gripped my head and screamed, yelling at her to stay back, not come any closer. Then, she spoke.

"It was a rainy day after school, just like this one...on the day I was kidnapped...I remember I had a fight with my mum that morning."

I frowned, looking to Sakura. "Why is she telling us this?"

"I have no idea." She replied, shrugging.

"I didn't want to see her face." Yuki continued as though we hadn't spoken. "So instead of going home that day, after school, I decided I'd sit in the outdoor walkway for a while and watch the rain. Then Yoshikazu sensei showed up and sat down next to me. I told him about the fight with my mum, and he nodded and listened. He was sick and couldn't speak very much, you see. But he was a very kind man. I liked him. Then he..." She stopped and shook her head, sobbing. "You three are very nice people. I am so sorry. Thank you for what you tried to do back there...for trying to help those of us killed in the school."

"Didn't we succeed though?" Sakura asked, frowning. "Why are you still here?"

"No...you didn't..."

"But we gave you back your tongues, made it so you could speak out again, even got your murderer to repent for what he did! Is it just that...we can't succeed no matter what? You can't forgive him?"

"It isn't about forgiveness...Repentance is between the criminal and the victim. It's the sole act capable of moving us. And we exist as fragments of the sacred ground upon which Heavenly Host is sealed. I believe moving us...is your best course of action. But it's not enough. Yoshikazu sensei's words aren't enough."

"So what then? Why do you feel the need to trap one innocent stranger after another in that godforsaken place?! You child spirits are the ones who summoned us there, aren't you?"

I'd seen Sakura get angry and upset before, but for some reason, this seemed different. Almost like her words were the embodiment of anger and hate.

"That's...not true." Yuki answered.

"What does that mean?"

"We just hold the closed spaces together."

"But you killed Rock Lee, didn't you?"

"Wait." I commanded sharply. Sakura stopped at once, looking at me in shock. "At least hear her out." I told her calmly.

"I'm just glad I was able to get the two of you back to safety." Yuki conceded, looking away, anywhere but at the three of us. "To die as we did...it's like stopping short on the edge of madness. Our fear and anger and hate never stops turning. We act without any control. Your friend, Lee, he could see we were unable to possess any sense of self control, and he tried to rally others to help us regain our humanity...but the madness struck, and we were made to destroy him, to keep the closed spaces together."

We were silent for a moment. The kindly girl before us and the murderer child from the school were two different sides to the same coin, essentially. The uncontrolled side governed my madness and the true, kind side. Finally, Sari spoke. "Well, hurry up and bring the others back. Mikoshi, Matsuri, Gaara and the others."

Again, Yuki just looked away.

"You...you can do it, right?"

"I don't...think that's possible anymore." She admitted.

"Why not?" Sakura snapped. Yuki winced, but spoke nonetheless.

"Those closed spaces...have eaten a lot of innocent souls. Far too many, in fact. The grudges of those who died there have filled every last corner of them. There's no room left. And because the agony and pain has nowhere else to go...it's begun feeding on the minds and souls like us who are bound there."

I understood what she was saying. The spirits within the school, no matter how kind, were all losing all sense of good will, sanity and kindness they had left. "So...we'll lose you as an ally soon?" I asked. She nodded. "Then hurry up and bring them back."

"There's only one way to send your friends I know of...you'll have to return to the closed spaces...find the victims of the kidnapping and our killer, and put us all to rest, then the closed spaces will begin to fall apart without us to hold them together...and your friends should be able to escape."

Sari shook her head. "You're telling me you want us to go back inside, and instead of just appeasing one kid, we have to redo all four of you plus the psychopath?!

"Why weren't our previous efforts enough?" I asked. "Why can't you just tell us?"

Yuki shook her head, tears flowing again. "It's just...something I really don't want to remember...but if you really need to know, I can show you."

She reached out and took my hand in a gentle, cold grip. A shooting pain burst through my head and I fell back, blacking out. I heard the girls scream my name before everything faded to black.

Huh?

I was still fully aware. I couldn't see a thing, and I couldn't move a muscle. Sleep paralysis maybe? Then a light flickered on, blinding me, and I could hear the cries of children, terrified children, beside me.

 _Shinozaki Sachiko, the little girl in the red dress. The sole survivor of the horrific events to take place in Heavenly Host Elementary. Following the incident, Sachiko's family fled from the area, moving to another prefecture to escape the frightful memories that remained here. Strangely, however, I've been unable to locate any other records of the Shinozaki family. No matter where I look, the only information I can find about them comes from newspaper reports on the Heavenly Host murders._

 _Granted, when an elementary school becomes the stage for a grisly incident such as this, perpetrated by none other than the principal's own son...it stands to reason that the scandal would serve as the primary focus for public interest, with all other details fading into the background. So of course, after learning the Sachiko was safe, further news of her whereabouts was largely ignored in favor of the media circus surrounding the school. But there was more than that. People weren't merely uninterested in Shinozaki's whereabouts, rather, there was no data to be found._

I was able to twist my head left and right. Either side of me lay the children, the victims of Heavenly Host, wrists and ankles bound, bandages over their eyes. They were still alive, squirming, struggling and crying out for help. I couldn't see Yuki there. It was then that I realised similar bindings were exactly why I couldn't move. A large man approached us. Yanagihori Yoshikazu...

The children became more desperate, starting to scream for help or for their parents. "Stop!" I yelled, joining in as I began to realise what was going to come. I was living Yuki's last night.

My voice came out strangely high pitched. Looking either side to the children, I found I was roughly the same size as them, but still a boy, still me. I was just a child again. "Please, no, stop!" I kept yelling, trying to pull my hands and feet free.

"Eeeeye...herr...eye...sss..."

Yoshikazu tied the blindfold around my eyes. I wanted to make it stop. I tried to use my sharingan, but even if it wasn't blocked by the spirits, I was only eleven now. A year younger than when I'd passed the academy, and likely a month or two before puberty. That was a frightening thought. Now I once again couldn't see a thing. I began to listen more intently, stopped struggling and just listened. I was Yuki now, and there was no escape from the fate she had already lived. Even so, it doesn't help to ease my fear as I hear the children's frightened sobbing. "What are you doing to me?" I asked, feeling shivers run down my spine. "Why am I blindfolded?"

Yoshikazu retreated to the corners of the room.

"Untie me! I'm not Yuki Kanno! Please!"

I kept begging and pleading, desperate to avoid whatever Yuki had experienced, but all I heard were the retreating _clomp clomps_ of Yanagihori's footsteps.

"In...or...der..."

Order?

Then, breaking through the silence was a scream. Not a scream of fear, but a primal scream of pure agony and terror the likes of which no human being should ever experience. It was the boy at the end, accompanied with softer sounds of a sharp foreign object being pushed into the stomach. After the screams finished, the boy becoming too weak to continue and too close to death, which seemed to take an eternity, he still made a sound with every new jab the knife made as his insides were scooped out and dumped to the side. Why wasn't he falling unconscious, why couldn't he have some release from the pain?

Adrenaline was a bitch sometimes.

It's been at least half an hour. The inhuman screams of a small boy having his insides torn to pieces have finally come to a halt. There is the sound of snipping and something wet being cut through as the murderer I assume remove's the boy's tongue, and without so much as a second to stew in that utter terror left over, the killer moves on to the next child. The girl next in line begins to scream for her life, begging for forgiveness and mercy, unsure what she's done to deserve this. Her screams give way to chokes and coughs, any further screaming muffled and distorted as her head is slowly cleaved in twain. Gurgling sounds and choking.

Oh god...I can't take any more of this! Stop it! Stop it stop it stop it stop it!

Is it still going on? Oh god, just die already!

...'Just die already'? God, what is wrong with me?

I just want peace, I just want it all to end. I've seen death before, but I've never heard such young, primal screams, such desperation...such suffering.

Finally, after hearing a heavy object drop to the ground, and the removal of the tongue once more, the room fell silent again. The only sounds assaulting my ears were my own frantic breath and the sound of approaching footsteps.

I feel every organ inside of my body freeze and twist with complete and utter terror. The girl beside me just died, which means I'm next!

Someone grabbed me by the hair and pulled me up so roughly it felt like my neck might snap. Hands tugged at my blindfold. I was going to see the face of my killer.

 _The four missing children were found in a basement room in Heavenly Host, unused and sealed off since the building's construction. When authorities entered, they were greeted with an inhumanly horrific sight. Based upon the evidence at hand, the murder weapon was determined to be a pair of large sewing scissors found in the hands of the accused. Investigators suspected some hesitation on the man's part, however, as the deceased victims' wounds did not indicate that his full strength had been used. Nonetheless, he had clearly acted with extreme malicious intent. The official cause of death for the deceased children has been listed as 'loss of blood following the removal of the tongue', but the actual state of affairs was not quite so clinical, nor even so "pleasant" (if you can believe it)._

 _The following details have been extrapolated from information previously unreleased to the public - or at least, previously unreported by news outlets. These details of the crime are based on the official police testimony of Sachiko Shinozaki herself._

 _Evidently, the victims were bound, blindfolded and spaced out on the floor...then killed, one by one. One was repeatedly stabbed in the abdomen with the aforementioned scissors, and then had his internal organs forcefully pulled out. Another was stabbed in the head dozens of times, hundreds of times, until everything above the jawline was minced away._

With my blindfold removed, the sights before me were more horrific than I could have imagined. Beside me lay the two deceased children. Beside the boy, a pile of meat trailing inside his abdomen lay. The girl was completely unrecognisable. However, it still got worse. The person in front of me, brandishing a pair of sewing scissors before my eye, was not Yanagihori Yoshikazu after all.

It was one of the children.

A little girl, covered in the blood of her victims, staring at me with soulless grey eyes...and then...she started to laugh. I heard panicked moans, and a look to my side confirmed Yoshikazu was nowhere near. In fact, he was sat in a corner, clutching his head and crying in horror. The little girl raised the bloody, rusty blades, slowly bringing them closer and closer to my left eye...

"Why? Why is it you?"

And with that, she thrust the blades deep into my eye. I reared my head back as an unimaginable amount of agony shot through my head. I could hear the blades scrape against my skull from inside, feel every beat of my heart, feel the adrenaline make it faster and more painful.

 _The third victim was stabbed in the eye an unknown amount of times until her eye became liquefied and was simply left like that until she eventually bled to death in agony. Strangely, it was only after these mutilations were performed that the killer severed the deceased's tongues. Learning the truth about these proceedings is shocking even to me, and makes it nearly impossible to accept the murderer as anything but a monster. And watching this all was 7-year-old Shinozaki Sachiko, the most long-suffering of them all. It was through her tearful testimony that Yanagihori was sentenced and convicted. Now, going back to the hunt for information on this unfortunate girl's whereabouts, it was her words that ultimately led to Yoshikazu's sentencing. Therefore, it comes as no real surprise that sensitive information pertaining to her and her family would be withheld. That's to be expected. What's not expected, however, is there is no trace whatsoever of Sachiko's existence around the time this took place or after. This leaves a nagging feeling at the back of my head, one that asks a bone-chilling question._

 _Was Yoshikazu truly the killer of these three children?_

 _Is it possible this crime was not actually perpetrated by him at all? Think about it. In his final days, Yoshikazu was incapable of communicating with others through speech. And despite his childlike reversion, he'd always been a personable and friendly man. As the saying goes, he wouldn't have hurt a fly. All his relatives, friends and neighbors confirmed as much, shocked to hear that such a kindly man could commit these unconscionable atrocities. He certainly had no motive for the crime, either. There was nothing for him to gain from it. Or perhaps, like his father, he had simply lost his mind. It was around this same time that Principal Yanagihori Takamine began speaking in tongues and acting in a most peculiar way...not to mention scribbling incomprehensible gibberish all over his walls, as if possessed. He seemed frightened of someone and would often be found crouching in the corner of his office, moaning and thrashing, when visitors came by. If he could wind up in such a state with no warning, then perhaps so too could his son..._

 _I believe we are looking at a curse more powerful than any could have imagined, one that may have spanned from the day Heavenly Host opened its gates to the moment it closed its gates forever._

 _I believe the story of Heavenly Host starts not with these murders, but far earlier. Perhaps even a whole 20 years earlier._


	11. Mikoshi

When I awoke, I was surrounded by stinking meat and lying in a shallow pool. It was dark, and even if it wasn't, I had blood covering my glasses. They were also cracked and pretty much the definition of unusable. I let them fall away and scrambled around searching blindly for a door. Finally, my fingers found a seem and I was able to stagger free from the room. I took great gulps of fresh air. I have never, ever been so happy to be able to breathe. I staggered along a little more but found myself almost walking into a hole. Not my cleverest move. I crouched beside the hole, peering in, I saw something in there. I couldn't quite see what it was, but it looked like an ID of some description from where I was sat. I wouldn't be able to reach it from here, that much was for certain. Not able to get it, I kept walking.

I found a set of bathrooms after a while, and within them, a body hanging from the rafters. Otherwise there was nothing of note as far as I could tell. There were notices tacked up here and there, but I didn't read many. There was a storage room, wide open. This underground section to the school confused me, but I paused to consider how long it must have stood. The murders were 50 years ago, and the school had stood long before that as well. It was likely the school stood during a war. Perhaps this was a bomb shelter or something of the sort? It seemed to be closed off from the rest of the school, apart from via that chute I'd come down before. I shuddered as I remembered Koji, wielding my girlfriend's leg like a weapon...

I stifled a sob. Ninja are supposed to endure! I could mourn when I was free. I pushed the storage room door open and explored a little. Not much there. I could tell that much. Spools of rope and string. Might be usable. If I had, say, a length of wire, I could use it to fish out that ID at the bottom of the hole. Just in case, I kept the spool of string.

Slowly, I approached a door. I hadn't seen it before, and it seemed to lead outside. There was light coming from beneath the cracks. As I approached, however, a spirit appeared before me.  
"Stop. The covered walkway beyond this point shouldn't even exist!"  
I pushed forth and went for the door, but a powerful impact sent me back. I fell onto the floor, my ankle twisting unnaturally until it snapped.

After screaming, I sat there for lord knows how long. I was...it was like my mind was clouded by some form of fog. When things became clear again, I found myself staring at some strange, moist stain on the dirt wall. Slowly, I stumbled to my feet, extra careful not to put any weight on my injured foot, and hopped back down the hall. My leg scratched against something sharp, and I hissed in pain as the skin tore open. I looked down and it appeared to be a large chunk of...some form of support wiring locked into place against the wall. I reached out and pulled, trying to take out one of the wire hairs. The support wire groaned and bent out with my efforts, but eventually I got the wire hair I required. I could fish out that ID now. With my ankle possibly broken, it was clear I couldn't risk going down there.

I never realised how difficult fishing was. Every time I thought I'd hooked the thing, it slipped free and fell down again. It took at least 10 attempts to get the thing. The ID had a familiar photo and a familiar name.  
"Matsuri? Matsuri's down there?!" Worried, I braced my hands against the edge of the hole and stuck my head down there. "Matsuri! Matsuri, answer me! Are you there?"  
God, what if something awful had happened? I didn't want to lose another friend at this point. Maybe I had a flashlight. I quickly checked my bag, and indeed I could find some flares. I set one off, holding it so it cast a bright light over the hole in front of me.

Many more dead bodies, but Matsuri herself wasn't among them. She must have just dropped her ID. Her paper doll scrap was within it...I folded it up and tucked it into my pocket. I could give it back to her when I found her. No doubt she'd appreciate that, especially if it meant remaining linked to Gaara. She'd become better at hiding her little crush and no longer gushed about him in such an irritating way, but she clearly still liked him. You could see it any time he passed her. Not that I would bring it up. She always got really indignant if you tried to tease her.

I'd see about getting her to tell him she loved him, even if he did only take it as friendship. It was important to let those close to you know you loved them, after all. I just prayed we wouldn't lose anyone else before it was too late.

Even so, I couldn't find another living soul in here. I called out, but never once received another response. Eventually, I found a set of bathrooms. I needed to go, but the men's room wouldn't open. It was as though the door itself wasn't much more than something painted on the wall. I guess I could have gone in the girls' room...actually, I decided I might as well. No-one else was down here, and it wasn't like anyone could complain.

Every one of the filthy, dilapidated stalls I tried were locked up tight, but not a single soul was in any of them. No feet on the floor. Just in case someone was hiding within the stalls, I called out hopefully.  
"Hello? I don't want to hurt any of you. I'm just looking for my friends, you don't have to hide."  
I felt beyond ridiculous saying it, but soon it became apparent there wasn't a single soul in there with me. After a moment of feeling around and figuring out the best course of action, my thumb located a hole in one of the stall doors for me. Perhaps using that I could unlock one of the doors from the outside, but just to make sure I knew what I was doing, I put my eye to the hole.

Something thick and sharp plunged into my eye and I reared back with a scream. The shock of the sudden, agonising attack sent me into convulsions.  
"Boys aren't allowed in the girls' bathroom." A child's voice scolded. Looking up with my good eye, I saw the glint of a spirit stood before me. I couldn't make out any specific features, but she was young, definitely a little girl, with shoulder-length hair in pigtails and dark stains on her clothes. In her right hand, she held a bloodstained awl. "P-please, I'm just looking for my friends, Matsuri, Sari and Yukata..."  
"It's not allowed." The girl stated calmly, closing the bathroom stall she had just stepped out of. She raised her arms and I threw up mine, instantly feeling the sharp, resonating pains of the awl piercing my flesh. Over and over again, the girl swung down, delivering punishment upon me. I begged her to stop, but she continued until she pierced through my arms completely, slicing and hacking into my head, destroying my ear, scalping me. I could hear the skin peel away with every hack. All there was left in the world was pain. My vision went black, and I couldn't tell if I'd closed my eyes or if she'd pierced my remaining one. I begged for mercy, but it never came. I begged for the sweet release of death, but even when my soul parted from my body, all I knew was pain. I wasn't even aware of my own demise until the girl finally stopped hacking away and left me in peace. Or as much peace as you could be left in with this much pain.


	12. Yukata

I remember last night, the night before we did the charm, I'd been having a sleepover with some of the girls from Suna. Well, Matsuri and Sari. They were my absolute best friends ever, after all. After a hard day's training, I flopped over onto my bed with a heavy sigh. This was my castle. The pale pink carpet, curtains, walls, pink and white bedclothes with cuddly toys littered over by the pillows of every colour of the rainbow, white ceiling with an old soda stain. Matsuri sat beside me, taking a deep breath through my nose.  
"Mmm. It smells like caramel in here." She commented with a blissful smile as she removed her flak jacket, rolling her stiff shoulders back. It was my first sleepover, and hers as well. Sari had probably been to others before. When I'd started the academy, Sari'd already had a lot of friends. Matsuri hadn't had many. A lot of people didn't like her much, as she was an outsider, some even considering her 'bad luck'. It got a lot worse when she became Gaara-sama's student, at which point people even stated she would become corrupt, perhaps even a monster.

I had bags upon bags of junk food, including two large bottles of chocolate soda. It had been three for the price of one, so we'd given a bottle to another ninja we were acquainted with, Shishio. He was a friend of Mikoshi's girlfriend. Two bottles would be more than enough. Sari was making a call home at the time, so we were free to talk. Matsuri was my absolute 100% best friend ever, after all. For some reason, however, everything felt awkward. I felt shy and embarrassed, and I could tell Matsuri felt the same way.  
"Want to try some of the soda?" I asked, sitting up as Sari came in, planting herself into an arm chair.  
"Hell yeah!" Matsuri shouted eagerly. I'd always loved my friend's cheerful disposition. Sari pulled out one of the bottles. It was clear, but with a faint muddy colour to it, like a muddy yet fast-running river.  
"What do we do with the rest of it if it sucks though?" Matsuri asked as Sari began to pour the fizzy drink into three glasses.  
"Give it round to some others." Sari answered at once. "People who annoy us. Make like we're being real nice."  
"Kankurou-Dono likes chocolate. We could offer him a drink and watch him squirm."  
I laughed. "You two are evil." The three of us drained our glasses in one and reached an agreement in an instant.  
"Damn, that's good!"  
And before I knew it, we were back to our usual antics, talking about anything and everything, from Sari's latest boyfriend, a dream I'd had after a mission when I'd been in a coma (creepy, huh?), our one shared crush...and our worries. I hoped we could be friends forever. They were the absolute bests. The only ones I could tell all my worries to, and in turn they could tell their worries to me. We were a perfect trio of close, supportive friends. I wouldn't give them up for the world.

And so soon, such a peaceful, cheerful life could be thrown to hell. I was on all fours, emptying my stomach onto the wooden floor of the...the...it looked like a school, but nothing made any sense. A dark, shadowy figure had attacked me in the infirmary, entering my body through my mouth, nose, ears, eyes, and every other hole, choking me, gripping my insides and turning them inside out, changing them to ice. I almost passed out, I was sure. As I managed to keep my grip on reality, I started to cry. I cried and cried until I couldn't any more. I desperately needed to drink something, my throat was so dry. Miserable, I called out for help. "Help! Matsuri, Sari, Mikoshi, Gaara...someone help me, please..."  
I hadn't seen a single person since I'd come here. Not anyone alive, at least. I was so worried, and so scared, so scared, so very, very scared! I tried to call out again, but instead I just started hacking and coughing. It felt like something hairy was caught up in my mouth, blocking the flow of air through my hair...my throat...my...I can't think straight, I can't breathe...

I reached into my mouth, closing around something. From my throat, I pulled clumps of long, black hair. It wasn't mine. I did not eat my own hair. I didn't eat anyone's hair! I kept pulling and pulling, gagging as I went. It seemed to stretch on forever, from my hands, into my mouth, down my throat and into my stomach. The feeling of the hair scraping against my tonsils was beyond foul. Where the hell did all this hair come from?

All of a sudden, the entire building was shaking around like crazy. I was terrified. I covered my head with my hands as bits of wood and dust fell from above. The floor in front of me fell out. If I had been just an inch further forward...

I was so scared, so scared, so very, very afraid. I wanted my mum. I was certain I was going to die and I couldn't stop sobbing and whimpering. My mind swam with all these thoughts. How long would it take? How much would it hurt? How would it happen in the end? But in the end, I survived. I opened my eyes as the shaking subsided and stood, slowly easing out the stiffness in my body. I went to check out the hole in the floor. The floor below was very far down and seemed to have fallen out as well. If I fell into there, I would undoubtedly meet my end. Hesitantly, I went back into the infirmary. I felt someone else might find me easily in there. In a place like this, an infirmary was a beacon. I could see a notice on the wall, something I hadn't looked at before. I'd been busy being attacked.

 _[Proper Procedure for Dissection]_  
 _  
_ _First and foremost, you must ensure that both arms and both legs are firmly pinned down, such that the subject is completely unable to move. Next, make a clean incision across the stomach and carefully peel the skin on both sides, exposing the subject's innards. Use pins to keep the op-_  
 _  
_It became unreadable from that point. There was a photo of a man on the desk. A little more exploring had be finding nothing of value, so I decided to walk away from the hole in the floor. There was a foul stench.

Had...had that splatter of blood and guts been there before? The smell invaded my senses, bringing me to my knees. It was all I could do not to vomit again.  
It felt like my fear and uneasiness was swirling around and around non-stop in my head, turning into a tornado torrent of pure misery. Every body of someone young I saw drove me a little closer to the edge. I wandered aimlessly, my senses dulled, barely able to keep a grip on reality.

Up ahead, I swear I saw a light glinting off something. A kind of thin, sinewy web. Piano wire? They were stretched all across the hall, blocking my way. Curious, I reached out to touch one, but as soon as my skin made the slightest contact, I withdrew, looking at my hand. It had been such a light touch, yet blood was swelling up on my finger, becoming beads that grew heavy and slid down the length of the digit, curving down my hand and wrist. How could piano wire be so...so sharp? If I hadn't come to my senses and noticed it, death once more would have come to me...and not death by nasty spirits, but by a mere booby trap, things kunoichi like myself were trained to spot and avoid!

Well, I had spotted it, and I had avoided it. Even so, someone had planned to catch me or my friends in it, I was sure of it. I spun around in place. "Is someone there?" I called. I felt like someone was following me, watching me, waiting for me to fall into their trap so they could gloat. "Stop this, please! You're scaring me!"

I went back the other way, seeing a blood soaked sheet. It stated that 'getting closer to the darkness means getting closer to the truth'.  
 _This whole place sits in darkness, after all._  
I entered a nearby classroom. A message was scrawled onto the blackboard.  
 _Your friend is a traitor. Run._  
Had...had someone written this to drive a wedge between myself and my friends? Or between other members of my group who had come here.  
"Is somebody here?" I called again. "Stop harassing people! I can't take it any more!"  
I wasn't sure who I was angry with, but boy was I angry. Seething, I ran from the room. I kept exploring in silence.

The next classroom I entered had a light flashing in it. It seemed to turn off whenever I looked toward the source. It was almost as though someone were trying to get my attention. I eventually located a flashlight. It stayed on solid when I finally approached it. Perhaps it was running out of batteries. I picked it up wordlessly. I was more creeped out than ever despite this. I was certain someone was watching me. Another notice was by the door.

 _Listen to your teacher_  
 _  
_ _You are going to die now._  
 _  
_I got out of there fast. The next classroom along contained bodies and a vibrant picture of a widely grinning girl. I read another disturbing notice. I should have noticed that all these things written by cursed souls were eating away at my sanity, but I didn't.

 _[Class Log]_  
 _I ate a student today._  
 _  
_ _I was hungry, so I had to. Plus, we played rock-paper-scissors, and I lost. I thought I'd lose to an adult, but I didn't._

The cabinet in the corner of the room was full of dirty tissues. It made my stomach turn.

As I walked the halls, I heard a desperate cry for help, but when I tried to find the source, it was replaced with a monotonous tone that spoke as though over a tannoy system.

 _Nakatsuka Yukata, class 3 room A, please return to class immediately_

 _Nakatsuka Yukata, class 3 room A, please return to class immediately._

Class 3 room A...the door was locked, and I didn't belong there.

"Wh-who, me?" I asked shakily, once again searching for the source.

Instead, a dark, gravelly voice responded.

 _You're next._

"Wh...What the hell does that mean?!"

I felt a sickness in the pit of my stomach. It was like I was forgetting something really, really important, but at the same time I didn't care. I wanted to forget it.

I wouldn't be able to tell you who Matsuri or Sari were by this point, the darkness had invaded me so completely. Every time I passed the mess of blood in that one hall, the remains caught my eye. I walked right up to them, running a finger through some of the blood and then licking it slowly. I crouched low, digging into the mess that had fallen on the floor, pulling up the floorboards beneath with desperate fervour, a low, almost inhuman moan escaping me.

I walked the halls with a small hemp bag in my hands. Every sign I passed had a skull faintly imprinted behind the red, glowing writing.

 _What have you got there? Where are you going with it?_

 _Give it back_

Who...who even am I? I don't know any more. A black smoke surrounds me, liquid similar to tar pouring from every orifice as the darkness and I become one. I have no memories, no feelings, no emotions, no likes or dislikes. There is no gender or personality. I've never even heard of Yukata.

I've never heard of any of it.

Heavenly Host is all I know.

 _GIVE IT BACK_

 _YOU'RE NEXT_

 _Nakatsuka Yukata, please return to class immediately. You will now die._


	13. Saya

My head...hurt so bad...I hardly remembered much. Child spirits...Shishio's charm...Yaoki had asked me to perform it with him...at first I thought someone had been playing a practical joke, but I quickly realised all those spirits were no joke. A large chunk of hair on the left side had been torn out, my clothes were soggy and ruined, my hair was loose...I hated this. I desperately wanted to go home. Finding myself back in the main building after I'd made a break into the forest...it was like waking up from one bad dream and finding myself in another. I stood, heading north, only to be stopped by a voice.

"Kankurou!"

It was Temari. I froze. Were those two in trouble? The voice echoed, becoming impossible to pinpoint.

 _Saya-chan, this way._

The voice was familiar. It sounded like Yaoki's friend, Korobi.

 _Please...take care of Yaoki...he's on the verge of snapping..._

"Who's there?" I called, feeling unease try and creep in. I pushed it down and kept walking up the stairwell. Yaoki sat in the corner, head down. I ran to him.

"Yaoki!"

He faded as I approached. "Wh...Yaoki?"

I jumped as something clattered loudly. A phone was falling down the stairs. I picked it up as it rang. I was sure it belonged to Yaoki. I answered it.

 _HELP ME..._

It was a deep, unfamiliar man's voice, guttural and throaty. Something about the voice scared me, before a posh woman's voice sounded through.

"Answer me! Please, Yaoki! Answer me! I'm your mother for god's sake, please don't make me worry! Please, god, don't let anything have happened to him..."

"Hello?" I called through quickly. "Hello?"

 _HELP ME..._

With a shriek, I threw the phone away from me.

"Fuck...this place needs to cut the crap already..." I picked up the phone again, tucking it into my corset, lacking pockets. I continued to head up, and as I emerged onto the third floor hall, I heard Yaoki's voice.

"Well, it was difficult, you know?" Followed by a laugh. "I certainly was surprised. So, Korobi, did you hear?

Hmm? What is it? What is it?

Mamushi bumped into Saya-chan turning earlier and grabbed her boob!

Seriously?" Another smirk and titter.

"When I saw it happen, though, I just wanted to smack Mamushi upside the head.

Oooh, Yaoki, do I detect a hint of jealousy?

Maybe, maybe not. All I know is afterwards, the two of them got into a huge fight.

I'd have loved to have seen that!

I don't know...it really wasn't a pretty sight...

I dunno, I bet I would have enjoyed it.

Girls are idiots.

Saya-chan especially, huh Yaoki?"

All this time I had been approaching the stall the voice was coming from. There was only one voice.

"I-is someone there?" I asked loudly. I could sense someone behind the door, but when I tried it, it wouldn't budge. I backed away a little, and suddenly I heard the snap of rope pulling taut and a gagging, choking sound. In a panic, I kicked the door open. It gave easily, showing the struggling form of Yaoki, hanging by the neck from a rope.

"Yaoki! You idiot! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" I yelled before stepping into the stall, no clue what I was going to do. I knew I had to loosen the grip the rope had on his neck, so taking a deep breath, I moved in under his legs, placing them on my shoulders and heaving him up so he could breathe. He started gulping in air like crazy. There was a rusted bucket at my feet, clearly what he had been standing on to set up the noose, but it looked rusted and weak. I highly doubted it could take both our weights. Instead, I reached up, scrabbling blindly for the knot so I could pull the binding rope away from his delicate neck. Finally, it seemed to loosen. It seemed Yaoki would live.

Slowly, I lowered him to the ground and lay him out. "It's okay, Yaoki. You're okay. Just take deep breaths. That's it. Easy now, breathe slow, in...and out. That's it. That's it." I stroked his cheek with the back of my hand. His eyes flickered open.

"S-Saya-...chan...?"

"Yeah, it's me. Can you sit up?"

Instead of responding, he started to sob and whine.

"A-are you in pain? Where does it hurt?" His neck, idiot.

He threw his arms around me, holding me tight. "Get here sooner next time..." He managed between sobs and sorrowful sounds. "I...I'm sorry..."

"There's no need to apologise." I told him gently, smiling and stroking his hair, letting him cry on my shoulder. "Is your neck okay?"

"My...my neck? Why am I in here anyway? I fell down the stairs and...when I came to, I was here..."

"You don't remember anything?"

"I...I guess not...I heard a snap in my leg, I thought it had broken, but it was some of the leather in my sandals."

"Where's Korobi? I heard his voice a little earlier."

He sobbed again. "Korobi...Korobi is..."

"Huh?"

Yaoki pulled away, leaving the stall and opening the door to the next one over. Inside, Korobi hung, motionless and deathly pale.

"That's...that's impossible...he spoke to me just a moment ago! I heard his voice!" I insisted adamantly.

"Korobi..." Yaoki whimpered, shaking his head and wiping his streaming nose and eyes. "Korobi..."

"Let's get him down...we can't leave him like that..."

A moment later, or maybe a whole while later, we had taken Korobi's body to the hallway, just by the stairwell. He stared at us with blank, frightened eyes, but I couldn't bring myself to touch his face, shut those eyes.

"We had a fight..." Yaoki began. "Just before we separated...I was in the wrong, but I was too stubborn to admit it...when I next saw him, Korobi was...already..." He cut off with yet another sob. "I can't even apologise any more!"

"Yaoki, it's all right, it's not your fault...you do realise...you also tried to hang yourself, right?"

He looked shocked. "I...did? That's not possible!...But...my neck..." He gave a hiss of pain, massaging the mark the rope had left.

"You really don't remember...I'm sure it was the same for Korobi. He'd never give up on something, and never ever hang himself, especially over an argument, no matter how vile...because he knows rifts between friends can be patched."

"You...you're right...he wouldn't..." He didn't sound convinced.

"We need to hurry up and find the others." I decided, standing and offering my hand, which Yaoki gratefully accepted. "Korobi...I'm sorry we can't take you with us. I wish we could, but right now it's just impossible. Please, forgive me."

We returned downstairs when Yaoki collapsed, coughing and spluttering. I worried the damage to his neck had cut off oxygen to his brain.

"S-sorry...I just got really dizzy for a second there..."

He didn't say anything more, just passed out. Sighing, I lifted him, carrying him to the infirmary and lay him out. His breathing seemed normal, so I chose to leave him there a while and search for some of the others. Shortly after leaving the room, I found myself faced with another earthquake. I gripped the doorframe until it finished, and then up ahead I saw a little girl in a red dress. Hesitantly, I followed her. As I traversed the halls, I heard the voice of a young girl.

"Mother..."

" _I'll kill you..._ "

I couldn't catch up to the little girl in the red dress, but I did find Korobi's cell phone. It seemed he had been in the middle of texting someone when he'd dropped his phone. It appeared to be a text for Yaoki. I decided not to show him this just yet. It turned out that would likely be my worst decision for my entire time here. As I headed back to the infirmary, I found Yaoki was stood outside and ran to him.

"Yaoki, I left you to rest!"

"Please don't leave me alone in here like that..."

"Sorry...I was looking for the others."

"Find anyone?"

"No..."

I started to walk, but Yaoki did not follow. "Yaoki? Are you okay? You seem kind of spacey..."

"I dreamed...about Korobi..."

"Oh!...Oh..."

"He must have really suffered...he just wanted me to understand!"

"Yaoki, don't let it get to you...please..."

Exploring a little further, we found a red key. It must have led to the red room.

The custodian's closet. We went inside, spotting a TV in one corner, and settled down before it to rest a little. The lights went off almost instantly, and we both cried out in shock.

Suddenly, the TV came on, at first only static, but slowly that static gave way to an image. An image of Korobi. My breath hitched in my throat as I saw him walking, texting as he went , looking up every so often to call for Yaoki. A figure seemed to be following him, looming up behind him before hitting him hard on the head with a large wooden box. It looked like the boxes Korobi and Yaoki kept their puppets in. He dropped like a rock. Slowly, the scene fizzled into the bathroom, where Korobi was regaining consciousness. Above the floor-level toilet stood a chair. Korobi was held by his attacker's hands on the chair, arms and legs bound. The attacker slowly placed the noose around the young man's neck and stepped back.

"Please...what are you doing? Why are you doing this to me...

Yaoki?"

The angle changed, looking at the attacker. The Yaoki on the TV screen gazed at his friend in an emotionless fashion before removing the ropes around his friend's wrists and ankles in a swift motion and kicking the chair out from underneath him. With that, he left Korobi to struggle for his life, walking calmly from the room.

The TV turned off then, and slowly, the lights flickered back on. I turned to him, shocked. It was obvious he had no memory of such an event...I assumed he wasn't in control. Just like when he tried to hang himself. I reached out to him, but he gave a low moan, one that frankly terrified me. When he looked up at me, he had the same expression as when he had killed Korobi. He approached, hands outstretched, still moaning. All I could do was scream as a tar-like black fluid escaped his mouth.


	14. Naruto

It was hard to believe we'd been at Shishio's house just moments ago. Either way, the current plan was to ensure the safety of everyone as soon as possible.

It was weird, though. I'd been totally alert, then suddenly felt a vile pain in my leg, and when I came to, my head was in his lap.  
I was with a boy who had introduced himself as Korobi's boyfriend, Sajin. I instantly pulled away. "What the hell is with you?"  
Sajin held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, you were the one who started screaming and crying. I was just trying to get you to shut up."  
"I wasn't screaming or crying!" The soreness of my throat and wetness of my cheeks told a vastly different story. Sajin shrugged and stood, and slowly I stood with him.

We were in a wing of the school containing a music room, art room and an office of some kind. The music room seemed plain and normal. The first thing I noticed in there though, was a box of matches and pile of candles. This place was pretty dark, so we decided to take them to help us light our way. On closer inspection of the room, there was a box within a cabinet. It seemed interesting, but I couldn't get it out, and Sajin also pointed out there was something wedged between two piano keys. It was wedged in so tight I couldn't even press the keys down. After this, we headed up to the staff room, only to find it locked. Just outside sat an old bedsheet.

Eventually, we found a bathroom. Inside sat the body of a girl, her spirit nearby.  
"Excuse me..." The spirit asked. "I want to ask a favour..."  
We turned to listen apprehensively.  
"I...I want you to hide my body...I don't want anyone to...to see me like this."  
Looking down at the rotting corpse, both eyes slit, as well as her throat, I nodded.  
Sajin hugged himself and looked away. "We should get that bedsheet. It should be large enough to cover her."  
At least he wasn't objecting to helping the ghost.

By the front entrance way, a severed head was shoved into a cubby hole. It was a tight fit and had been put there with some considerable force, judging by the flaking skin and hair stuck to the sides.  
"There's a key in its mouth..." Sajin uttered meekly. I gestured for him to take it, and he shut his eyes before reaching into the head's mouth, pulling out the key and shuddering violently.

The key led to the wing's art room. There was bound to be all sorts of helpful tools here, definitely. In fact, the first thing we found was an old palette knife. That would dig between those piano keys with ease. We went back to the music room and Sajin started violently working the stuck object loose. It was harder than I thought it would be, but eventually he dislodged it (and one of the neighbouring keys) and in his hand he held a key. Wordlessly, he gave it to me to hang on to. However, I remembered the storage closet in this room had been locked.

The key turned with little resistance and I pulled out the box triumphantly. "What do you think it is?"  
"Doesn't seem dangerous or anything." Sajin noted.  
"Well duh, how can a bod be dangerous?"  
"Traps." Was all he said, shrugging.  
Suddenly a lot more cautious, I held the box a little away and opened it. The inside was silk, and a cloth was wrapped around something thin and rectangular. It looked like a grave tag used to ward off negative spirits. Pocketing this, as it could be of use in a place like this, we continued to explore until we found a spirit stood beside one of the bodies. The body itself had no head and was thoroughly decomposed.  
"Someone...stole my head." The boy's spirit began. "Please...get it back for me...I can help you if you do..."  
I turned to the sand shinobi at my side. "What should we do?"  
"Good question...I never believed in paranormal shit before now, but...this is really real, isn't it?"  
"No, you idiot, I mean whether to help this guy or not-ttebayo!"  
He arched an eyebrow at my outburst, looking none too impressed. "If we can do something for him, I see no reason why we shouldn't."  
"Yeah, maybe he can help us find a way out of here..."  
"The head...you think it's the one in the cubby hole?"  
"I'm not carrying it with my bare hands."  
"There's a bucket by the staff room, perhaps we can use that."

And we did just that. Just standing before the severed head, however, was too much. It turned my stomach, I could see maggots crawling around the receded flesh and through the eye sockets. It made me want to vomit. Wordlessly, Sajin held the bucket out and I shot him a glare. Hesitantly, I dug my hands into the cubby hole. The meat of the rotted head squished beneath my fingers and I had to struggle not to vomit as I felt the maggots crawl over my fingers, across my hands, up my sleeves...finally I got a good grip and pulled hard. There was a lot of resistance as the skull scraped across the wood. I practically threw it into the bucket, much to Sajin's displeasure. He glared at me as I focused on getting all the maggots off me. Slowly, we made our way back to the spirit and Sajin held out the bucket.  
"Here...I...I think this is your head."  
"My beautiful head!" The spirit cried. "Oh, look at how rotten it is...all those bugs...I'm so ugly now!"  
"I can sympathise...many others have been killed here just as horribly. We'll make sure the people who did this pay."  
"Are...you pitying me? Do you feel sorry for me?"  
"N-no! That wasn't my intention...sorry if I offended." He bowed politely.  
"No...you think I'm ugly and wretched and you never want to touch my foul body again, isn't that right?!"  
A shiver went down my spine. "I don't like where this is going."  
"It's because you're still alive. That's why you turn your noses at us dead people. Arrogant creatures... Why don't you come and join us?!"  
The floor began to shake. With a shriek, we held onto one another.  
"I'll just hand you over to the others, and they are scary! They are so frightening you'll want to tear out your own throat no matter how painful if it means they won't get to you!

The last thing I heard was the spirit laughing before I blacked out.


	15. Sen

I remember...we'd seen Yukata. She had been running from something, but she didn't look especially scared. When we'd caught up with her, she was in a puddle of black and her head was split wide open.

I could even see her brain.

It sent a shiver down my spine, but Shishio-san had collapsed beside her, writhing in agony, clutching his head and tearing his hair out. I dropped to my knees beside him, grabbing his arm and trying to calm him. Nothing got through to him. He really was in pain, but there were no injuries. "Shishio!" I screamed, just trying to get him to come round, or at least stop screaming! There were footsteps nearby, and Yukata wasn't long dead. No, it had probably happened only moments before we'd found her, and her killer was undoubtedly still around. I begged him to calm down, to stop, but there was nothing I could do...and then the big man with the hammer came. I got up and scrabbled away, but I couldn't keep hold of Shishio and bring him with me. The hammer came down on his head. I could hear the blood join the pool of black. It sounded like a leaky faucet, and the air was punctuated by his gags and gasps. He seemed to come to as the man raised his hammer for another strike.  
"No...stop!" He held his arms out to protect himself, although the motion was slow, sloppy and weak. Was he already brain damaged?

With the next strike, his right arm twisted unnaturally and started to tear off. Another smash brought the arm clean off. I was vaguely aware of a woman screaming. Was it me?  
"Sen...r-run!"  
Smash.  
"Run!"  
I didn't want to, but then the man with the hammer turned to me and started ambling along. I ran. I remember hearing a crash as the man fell, and assumed perhaps Shishio had made him fall, using his good arm. The hammer came down again and the man with the hammer went the other way...leaving me alone.

Then I heard a familiar voice talking to him.  
"I'm surprised you're still alive, after all that. Can you hear me? What happened?"  
Shishio gagged and coughed, choking on his own blood. "Save...oth...ers..."  
"Others?"  
"P-please...Sen..."  
"Sen?"  
"Gllgh...help...her..."  
"Okay. I'll do just that."  
I could hear the sneer in the newcomer's voice, and then heard the telltale squelch of a knife boring into a person's abdomen. Shishio grunted, choking becoming more pronounced.  
"It's time for you to rest in peace...though they say when you die in here, the pain never goes away."  
"W-why...?"  
"What does it matter? You're dying anyway."  
He twisted the knife, I could hear it, and the sounds of Shishio's suffering. I staggered down the hall a little further and emptied my stomach. The telltale sound of footsteps sounded in my ears, so I ran, ran for my life until I found myself running into a classroom. It was an art classroom, so there was bound to be palette knives, chisels and scissors I could use as a weapon to defend myself. Now all I needed was somewhere to hide. Leaving the classroom, as there was nowhere to hide in there, I sobbed. I felt like such a coward, just leaving that boy to die.  
"Shishio...I'm so sorry..." I managed to sniffle. "I..I panicked...I should have done something..."  
Footsteps approached and I tightened my hold on the chisel in my hand. If it was that man again, I'd...  
"Sen-san, is that you?"  
"Koji!" A wave of relief washed over me. He looked a little tattered and bloody and was holding a crowbar, I assumed for defense. He sighed.  
"I've been looking all over for you."  
"Yukata and Shishio!" I remembered Shishio was his team mate and it made me feel a million times worse. "I tried to help him, I really did..."  
"It's alright. It's going to be alright. I promise. We'll get out of here."  
"They were both killed by that man...!"  
"I know. I saw them too. What's with the chisel? Were you honestly planning on fighting him?"  
"I didn't want to go out without a fight..." It sounded pathetic and beyond stupid when I said it out loud.  
"You don't need any such thing, Sen-san." He scolded gently, taking my chin between thumb and forefinger and the chisel from my hand. He was so calm and gentle.  
"I will remove all your fears...forever." He promised.

He shot his arm out but I caught it. He had been trying to stab me!  
"Nice reflexes."  
"Please tell me you're kidding...why would you...?"  
"Do I look like I'm kidding?" He asked calmly.  
"What? Why?!" We struggled back and forth, him trying to dig the chisel into my flesh, me fighting back desperately. "Please don't!"  
"Shishio didn't die from the wounds inflicted by the hammer." Koji told me calmly. "I finished him off. If we're all dying one by one, it's best it happens sooner than later to spare the lengthy suffering we're bound to experience just wandering these halls."  
I managed to throw his arm away from me and took off running, tears flowing uncontrollably. I just wanted everything to go back to how it was before any of this happened. I didn't want anyone to die or any of this to be real.

Please, please just be a nightmare. The whole time, Koji pursued me, swinging the chisel and very narrowly missing me. I ran up the stairs, back to and past Shishio and Yukata's bodies, and right into a dead end. I turned to him, pleading. "Please...I never did anything to you, so please stop this!"  
"That is true...it would be awful if I did something I could never take back, such as this." He plunged the chisel into my stomach without a moment's hesitation. He knocked me onto my back and knelt on my hands, plunging the chisel into my body over and over. It was difficult to process, my whole body was flooding with agony, every nerve screaming that something was wrong while my mind screamed back that I was well aware. I'd never felt something even remotely like this before as long as I'd lived. I was vomiting blood, I couldn't breathe. It was clearly nearing the end. All this time, Koji smiled down at me. That sickening smile.

Friends forever? Bullshit.

I'll never forgive you.

I'll curse your every waking moment.


	16. Sajin

Footsteps in the dark. We were on a dirt floor. I woke up to Uzumaki shaking me awake frantically, and when I sat up, he pulled me to my feet, practically dragging me along the way. Eventually, we lost the beast behind us and approached a sealed door, Not able to go through, we backtracked and went north. I kind of needed to pee, but I held it in until we reached a set of shelves lined with severed heads, like prizes. They were pretty fresh, recent deaths. We slowly picked our way through them, reaching the end where a none too pleasant sign awaited us.

 _Dear Shiho,_  
 _  
_ _Stay strong - no matter what happens, no matter what you may see. Never lose that immovable will of yours. Fight the darkening. Don't let it take you over. If you can beat it...then you can beat fate itself._  
 _  
_It was covered in bloody fingerprints and...other marks. I was worried. Afraid even. I'd never felt so afraid before in my life. We went to the east and almost collided with someone else. She had long, reddish-brown hair, blue eyes, tan skin and a mole, and she looked terrified. She screamed, then realised something. "People!"  
Naruto stepped forward to meet her. "It's good to see another living person down here. My name is Uzumaki Naruto."  
"A-Amaru..." She managed before glancing over our shoulders, likely at the head collection, turning tail and running, screaming. We exchanged clueless glances and followed. She ran through a room of boxes piled high, to a dead end hall and into a room in the wall. We followed, finding a foul room, filled with blood and bits of people, buckets full of blood and guts and all sorts. As we entered, Amaru slammed herself into a metal cabinet, loud enough to alert anyone who might be nearby exactly where she was hidden. And judging by a set of very heavy footprints, there was someone coming. We exchanged panicked glances and crawled under the table. We had little time to take in the horrific room, thankfully, but the stench was vile and the floor still slick with blood. I was shivering the whole time.

A large zombie man came in, moaning and groaning wordlessly. He dropped what he was carrying, and I was met with Korobi's lifeless face right before mine. Naruto clamped a hand over my mouth to stop me crying out. Suddenly, the zombie man let out a truly horrifying cry and charged at the cabinet. I couldn't see anything, but I heard the horrifying crunches, splats and screams of terror and agony as he did _something_ to Amaru. Then the monster grabbed Korobi by the head, removed his tongue and carried him off somewhere. I burst out from beneath the table and gave chase. "Bring him back, you bastard!"  
"Wait! Sajin!"  
I ran up north, where a blood trail ran, and to the east. It didn't occur to me that this place had been a dead end before. I reached a room within which Korobi's body had been unceremoniously thrown across the floor. I dropped to my knees beside his lifeless form, feeling tears sting my eyes and all sensibility leave my mind. It was almost as though I were being forced out of my own mind, in favour or someone or something else. Something that for some reason wanted _my_ body, _my_ mind. My eyes locked on Korobi's lifeless, lightless eyes. His neck had been squeezed into an hourglass shape.

Tears fell on his icy face and I couldn't help but let the odd sob out. No thought was spared to any other ninja within these halls. I just didn't care any more as I stroked my lover's cheek. "Korobi...if only I'd found you sooner, I'd be able to do something...I'm so sorry." I sniffled, resting my forehead against his. "I love you. I do...I...Korobi...how did this happen? Just a few hours ago we were enjoying ourselves...things were so good...I...Korobi...they...they will pay...". I grabbed his turban, dragging him back by his head. I spotted Naruto up ahead and drew my kunai. I attacked him, frantically slicing out as best I could, deaf to his yells of outrage and confusion. All I could see was another creature that had stolen life and light from not only me, but my friends as well, if they could be called that I guess. I didn't speak to most of the people I came here with. I wasn't really aware the person before me begging me to stop, not wanting to hurt me back but dealing damage when required, was Naruto until after it happened. It was so quick. One moment, I was screaming in rage, driving Naruto into a corner where he could not fight back, striking down in what would have been a finishing blow, a fatal strike to his chest, and then some girl with blue-black hair and white eyes and big boobs was in the way, pushing me hard in the chest.

I can't begin to describe the pain I felt as a thick pipe wire severed my spine and pierced my organs. I was there for so long, struggling and writhing before I died while the girl apologised profusely. Hmm. Stupid bitch. Still, at least she'd stopped me from killing him. At least she'd stopped me losing my mind. I saw who I had been attacking there and then through the tears in my eyes, and through my chokes and sobs I managed to say something.

"Th-th-tha-thank y-yo-you..." I managed to croak out. I couldn't say anything else, and whenever I felt the strength to speak, I repeated those words, thanking her for stopping me. Saving not only that man, but my very soul. Nobody I knew would ever want me to kill a comrade so heartlessly. Naruto made her turn to him as my mouth began to overflow with blood, and he tried to calm her.

"I didn't mean to...I just wanted to stop him but he stumbled..." The woman stuttered as she spoke and Naruto held her firmly.

"Hinata-chan, it's okay. He wasn't in control of himself, and I don't know if there was any other way to snap him out of it...you had to act quickly, and Sajin isn't angry or upset...he's grateful you stopped him...I know I would be...I'd much rather die than be forced to kill a friend."

As would I, I think. I wanted to help reassure her, but all that came from my throat was a gurgle. Ah, I think I may have been drowning in my own blood. My lungs were burning, but that was nothing. The rest of the pain that kept crashing over me in waves never faded, even in death. I wished it would go, but at the same time I was proud. Proud of these two able to keep their heads better than me in this hell...the Hidden Leaf had some very strong shinobi, in body and will. Proud that they were able to calm one another down.

The girl was being held in a tight hug by the boy, and I realised many more a shinobi would be suffering then.

If you two can find the others, help the others, it would make me so happy...please...save them...save them all...

 **AN: Sorry for the painfully short chapter. I couldn't get the scene I'd wanted for Hinata to work at all so in the end I cut it short and made it extremely brief.**


	17. Shikamaru

_There wasn't a single soul in the girls' bathroom. Perhaps Sasame and I had passed one another along the way without realising it. I kept wandering around, knowing I had to find her sooner than later. If she got hurt, it would be on my head._  
 _"No! No!"_  
 _I froze, turning. "Sasame? Is that you? Where are you?"_  
 _I stood at a heavy-looking iron door. It sounded as though her screams were coming from behind there. Slowly, cautiously, I approached it, hand outstretched._  
 _She screamed, a sound alike to that of a butcher knife slicing through a thick slab of meat, bone and all. I opened the door, and instantly, Sasame grabbed my foot. She was sprawled over the ground, screaming and writhing, her body cleaved in half from the top of the thigh. She wouldn't stop screaming, half in agony, half for help. It was too much for me to handle. I fell onto my backside, frozen with fear, unable to move. Her writhing made it seem like she was trying to flee the pain, her body gushing blood every which way. It burned itself into my mind, I could still see it when I closed my eyes. I started moaning in fear as a presence appeared behind Sasame, something large. Beyond large. It was a veritable giant, standing at likely 7ft. He approached with heavy clomps and reached down, grabbing Sasame's hair with filthy fingers. He turned, dragging Sasame into the horrid room. I couldn't begin to imagine how much pain she must have been in, the point at which her body was severed dragging across the uneven floorboards. Her voice was getting weaker, her writhing less pronounced, and I just sat there...watching..._  
 _  
_ _She screamed to me, eyes fixed on me and me alone as she was dragged off._  
 _"Save me! Please, don't let me die, I don't want to die! Shikamaru, help me!"_  
 _I was hearing the panicked, primal screams of someone about to experience their last moments on Earth. It's the kind of thing you'll hear in your memory for the rest of your life. Nothing will ever wipe it from your memory, not even the most extensive of therapies. Those seconds in which she was dragged away were the longest seconds of my life. Soon, only a swathe of blood remained. It was only then that I was able to scrabble to my feet, dashing after them._  
 _  
_ _I dashed head first into a wall._  
 _That was it. It made no sense, but Sasame was gone. Dead._  
 _  
_That had been, what, an hour ago? Two? Matsuri seemed to be getting weaker and weaker. Right now, Gaara had checked her neck wound and though it had bled profusely for a while, it seemed to have clotted now. He chose to support her until she felt better. We had found the second wing, which previously had been...gone. I'd had no clue there was a second wing until Temari said that was where she had lost Kankurou. A cabinet had fallen, blocking off the east path, so we checked a message saying 'the darkening has already begun', and then went back to the west. I cried out when I saw what awaited us in the next room.

A large man was...scattered across the floor. His head was intact, but it lay in the corner. Whoever had done this to him, they had clearly enjoyed it. Furthermore, the blood was all wet and fresh, as were the marks of the killer leading away. He had only just been killed. Temari had her hands clamped over her mouth until she noticed something on the floor.  
"Gaara...are those...?"  
He followed her gaze and after a moment, nodded. "They appear to be Kankurou's shoes." I looked. They were soaked in blood and urine, and I quickly stepped aside to ensure I wasn't stood in the puddle of urine by the door.  
Temari lifted them, not caring that they were that filthy. "No...please, no..."  
Gaara didn't go over, primarily because he was holding Matsuri close to him and steady. "Temari, don't worry. He's lost his shoes, but the blood clearly isn't his. It's more than likely he witnessed this man's death and lost his shoes in his hurry to get away."  
"What the hell happened here?" It came out of my mouth before I could stop it. A thought flashed across my mind that walking around barefoot on the splintery wood and broken glass wouldn't do him any good. I decided to insist we keep moving. The doors to the classrooms were locked, as was the principal's office at the top of the stairs. It didn't seem like Kankurou was in this building, so we went back toward the main exit...

"Temari!" I called as they went to the door. She stopped and turned to me, looking questioningly. I gestured to a point between two cubby shelves and spoke quietly. "Kankurou."

On the end of the bench between two cubby shelves, he sat, hood missing, hunched over, shoulders shaking. Even so, I was certain it was Kankurou, and so was Temari when she saw him.  
"Kankurou!" She called, leaping onto the bench and going to him. When he felt the disturbance on the bench, he leaped up, spinning to face us, a snarl on his face.  
"Stay back!" He snarled. "Don't come any closer!"  
Temari froze. "Kankurou, it's us, Temari and Gaara. I've been looking everywhere for you..."  
He wasn't able to see Gaara, so I stepped aside, pushing the younger brother forward. Seeing his sister seemed to be making him panic, but seeing his brother calmed him down. I took a good look at the disheveled man before me. His top was in tatters, a deep cut on his stomach, a rib protruding from his chest. He was covered in blood, but the only smell was the stench of stale urine. His eyes were red, tracks down his face left over from dried tears, his face paint smudged beyond recognition. His eyes flitted between his brother and sister in a panicked fashion before drawing Temari in for a hug. His other arm...the bones were out of place. Dislocated? Gaara sat by awkwardly as Kankurou... _cried_. He was genuinely full on in tears. Then again, looking at his injuries, he had clearly been through one hell of an ordeal. It wouldn't be a lie to say I'd almost cried several times myself.  
"You lied!" He managed through strangled tears. "You said you'd wait for me! I've been chased around with knives and scissors and my lungs...I want to go home...I just want to go home..."  
My attention was jolted to Gaara by the distinctive tear of cloth. He was tearing the sleeve off of his jacket, then tearing the sleeve open so it could cover more.  
"Kankurou." He called, drawing his brother's attention.  
"Ototo...I'd hug you too but my other arm's...out of commission...what are you doing to your coat?"  
"You're injured. Badly. Come here."  
Kankurou didn't move so Gaara did, moving forward and, despite his brother's squirming, tying the sleeve tightly around his waist, covering the wound on his belly. The siblings helped him to stand and Temari supported her younger brother. We went back to the main building. We made our way up through the rooms until we found a room with a wide open door. Going in, we found two more bodies, and Gaara gripped his throat. Matsuri pulled him away from the room at once, stroking his hair, keeping him calm. She was dedicated to keeping him safe, comfortable. She rested her forehead against his, whispering calm, gentle words to him, and he, understanding, closed his eyes, placed his arms around her shoulders, thanking her in his own way. It was...cute. Uplifting, in this dark space. We continued in without them, opening the closet. It wasn't just a closet, it led into another room with a ladder inside. We didn't pay any attention to that, though. Two bodies had fallen from the closet, both in black robes decorated with red clouds, and both thoroughly decayed. One had had long blonde hair, partially tied into a ponytail, and the other wore an orange mask with a swirl on it. I carefully stepped over the bodies and climbed up the ladder, leaving Temari and Kankurou behind as the latter couldn't climb, with the promise to come right back the moment I knew where it led.

I came out into the stalls in the bathroom, next to the stall that apparently led to the basement. Why all these ladders led to the girls' bathroom, I had no idea.

I went back down and joined the others. "Has everybody got their paper doll scraps?" I asked before we set off again. Everyone gave affirmatives, apart from Matsuri.  
"I...must have dropped mine when I went to get that holy water."  
The rope wasn't a viable option to get back down there. "Don't worry Matsuri, it'll be fine. We'll find it."  
Gaara took her hand, giving it a light squeeze. "If it's important, I'll stay with you until it's found, no matter what."  
They gave one another a smile. I looked to Temari, briefly wondering if we could be like that. I didn't dare try and take her hand though, especially not while she was looking after her brother. We wandered a while and when we passed the wall Lee had died against, we found something peculiar. The infirmary was suddenly down a long, thin hallway. We approached the door, but suddenly behind me, I heard a gagging sound. Turning, I saw the two other boys, holding their heads in pain, noses beginning to drip blood. Matsuri took charge once more, leading the two back, and it was just Temari and myself left to surge onwards. There was a notice on the door.  
 _Sachiko_  
 _I'm cleaning up in the reference room. please wait for me until I'm done._  
 _-Mum._  
Sachiko?  
The door slid open on its own and a woman's voice called out.  
"The door is open, come on in!"  
Blood dripped onto my hands. I gasped, touching my hand to my nose. When had my nose started bleeding? My breath was coming in gasps.  
"Shikamaru, maybe we should go." Temari suggested, pulling on my arm. "This place is bad for us."  
"There might be something important in there."  
Slowly, she lowered her hand to take mine and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Okay then...together?"  
"Together."  
We walked in, and the woman spoke again. My head was reeling, and Temari's nose had started to bleed as well.  
"Let's all have a field trip together over the summer holiday. What do you say?"  
We took a few steps forward, and suddenly the spirit of a woman with a twisted neck appeared before us. She had short, dark hair, skin a deathly pale, smart shirt and trousers torn and dirty.  
"Sachi is my pride and joy...she'd do anything for me..." She walked toward me, making eye contact with soulless grey eyes. Finally, she broke that eye contact and I fell to my knees, gasping for breath.  
"Shikamaru!" Temari was at my side, arms around me, holding me close. She helped me up and over to a chair in front of a desk. It had a diary on it. The lettering was still completely legible.

 _19/7/1953_  
 _I seem to be dead._  
"That can't be right..." I muttered before the woman spoke.  
"I can't forgive you...I won't forgive you...I'm going to kill you...how dare you harm Sachiko? How dare you harm me?"  
"This is bad." Temari noted. The woman ran towards us and we fled, back down the hall and back to the other three.  
Kankurou walked over to meet us. "What happened? You two look like you've seen a ghost."  
"We were in the infirmary." Temari stated. "There was a woman with a broken neck...just as we ran out...I swear I saw children appearing all around her."  
I hadn't seen that. Everyone looked at me and I arched an eyebrow.  
"Is that the diary from the desk?" Matsuri asked. I nodded.  
"I tried going through it earlier but it was frozen in place." Temari stated, looking shocked.  
"Is it the woman's?" Gaara asked. I nodded.  
"Without a doubt. I saw her writing in it." I turned it to look at the back, where I found a name.  
 _Yoshie Shinozaki_  
 _  
_ _19/7/1953_  
 _I spoke at great length with the children today. They're so full of life, and growing up so fast... The younger students are quiet and respectful, too. It's clear their parents love and care for them very much, and have taught them very well. But I won't be left behind! I intend to raise Sachiko with just as much love and devotion as any of them. Today is her 7th birthday and I'm meeting with her after school to have lunch with her. I hope she likes the stuffed cat I bought her. Had to sort out some documents in the reference room before meeting up with Sachiko. While I was working, the principal dropped by. After he and I talked for a bit, he suddenly grabbed me from behind, forced me down and began unbuttoning my blouse. He'd always been so kind, lending a sympathetic ear to my problems...but today, he didn't even seem like the same man. His eyes were cold and empty. I was in such shock, I'm not even sure exactly what happened to me after that._  
 _  
_ _I slipped away somehow, but he was right behind me. I only made it as far as the landing stairs before I felt him push me. The floor came at me fast and suddenly I found myself unable to move. I was slumped across the ground unceremoniously, and I was dead. Buckets of blood spilled out from my head. I'm sure it was hell to clean up later. I also lost control of my bowels - embarrassing, to say the least._  
 _  
_ _I was slipping away...but I was pulled back by the sound of a very dear voice. Sachiko saw everything. I guess she'd come to find me...The principal closed in on her. What was he planning to do? I yelled with every ounce of my strength for him to stop...but I was dead. I had no strength._  
 _  
_ _Sachiko tried to run, but she had the stride of a 7-year-old. He caught her easily, and then, before my eyes, he strangled the life out of her. What a cruel man..._  
 _  
_ _He rebuttoned my shirt, then took Sachiko to the basement and buried her. He'll probably say my death was an accident, and report her as missing._  
 _  
_ _I'm not a bad person. I don't deserve this. There is no redemption for what he's done..._  
 _  
_ _20/7/1953_  
 _It's just as I expected. According to the official report, I slipped and fell...and nothing's been said to anyone about Sachiko yet. The other teachers and students are all mourning me. They're so kind._  
 _  
_ _I'm in mourning too..._  
 _  
_ _21/7/1953_  
 _There's a stranger sitting in my chair. The new school nurse, no doubt. But no-one's come to see her yet. She mustn't be very popular._  
 _  
_ _I hate her._  
 _  
_ _26/7/1953_  
 _Little by little, I'm losing my mind. Bit by bit, I'm fading away. A dark will, not my own, has begun infiltrating my being._  
 _  
_ _Make it stop..._  
 _  
_ _?_  
 _I'm so alone. So very alone..._  
 _  
_ _I want to see Sachiko again. I want to see the children again._  
 _  
_ _I will never forgive him for what he did._  
 _  
_  
 _I'll kill them all._  
 _  
_ _12/7/1973_  
 _Sachi is my pride and joy. She'd do anything for me._  
 _She'd even kill lots to keep me company._  
 _She sends me so many children. I love them all._  
 _  
_ _15/7/1973_  
 _I have to make her stop._  
 _This won't make me happy. Sachiko, please stop._  
 _  
_ _16/7/1973_  
 _His family is just as guilty as he is. I'm going to curse the entire line, forever. I'll burn some sense right into their brains._  
 _  
_ _17/7/1973_  
 _How did this happen?_  
 _  
_ _Sachiko, who died alongside me twenty years ago, has a flesh-and-blood body once more. She kills children and sends their souls to me. But I don't want this! That won't make me happy! Sachiko...please, come see me! Talk with me!_  
 _  
_ _20/7/1973_  
 _Sachiko killed six more._  
 _And when they die, it's like every trace of their existence is removed from history. It's "spiriting away," in the truest sense of the term. But she's not capable of abducting and killing children on her own... She makes that man do the kidnapping for her._  
 _  
_  
 _Sachiko... Please, stop..._  
 _  
_ _23/7/1973_  
 _Sachi is no longer killing for my sake. Now she's just killing because she likes it. I don't know when this change happened...but it did._  
 _  
_ _Living beings are such fickle, easily-angered creatures. They killed us, after all. I can't forgive anyone who kills another human being._  
 _I'll kill them all._  
 _I'll kill them all for what they've done to us._  
 _I'll show them no mercy._  
 _  
_ _24/7/1973_  
 _Kill more_  
 _  
_ _25/7/1973_  
 _Kill more_  
 _  
_ _15/8/1973_  
 _Bring me more_  
 _  
_ _18/9/1973_  
 _Thanks to Sachi, I'm no longer alone._  
 _She sent me three more adorable little children today._  
 _  
_ _Sachi is my pride and joy._  
 _  
_ _I don't think she even recognizes me anymore._  
 _  
_  
 _But I still love her with all my heart._  
 _  
_ _18/11/1975_  
 _The school's been closed down. And the principal jumped off the roof. Serves him right._  
 _  
_ _I think I'll sing with the children. Something fun and happy._  
 _  
_ _What a pitiful way to die. Serves him right!_  
 _  
_ _23/11/1975_  
 _Sachi's been wandering the halls. These empty halls... She kills anyone who enters. People who've heard rumors, or are just curious._  
 _  
_  
 _She and I are both so desperately thirsty... But there's nothing we can do about it._  
 _  
_"Sachiko killed these souls to keep her and her mother company." I mused. "And it looks like it eventually drove her mad..."  
Gaara put a hand on the diary to get my attention. "If we wish to appeal to Sachiko, stop her from killing and save her soul, it seems the principal is the key. His office is in the other wing."  
With that, we agreed and got to our feet, making our way to the second wing.

I'm not sure where or how, but somewhere along the line, Kankurou had picked up a stuffed cat. Evidently the one mentioned in Yoshie's diary.

As we crossed the walkway to the second wing, a man fell past us, screaming, to his death. It certainly startled us all.  
"What the hell was that?!" Kankurou yelled, the first to get over the shock.  
"I..." Matsuri was second. "I think it was the principle of Heavenly Host."  
Seconds later, the same man fell to his death once more. Gaara gripped his head and buried his face into Matsuri's shoulder.  
"I...I guess he can never rest after what he did..." I mused. "So he's forced to relive his death, over and over..."  
"That's awful..."  
Temari approached the railing. "Hey, what's that?" She asked, pointing to the man's remains. She started to climb the railing. Kankurou cried for her to stop, and I grabbed her arm.  
"It's way too dangerous."  
"Everything here is dangerous, Shikamaru." She answered, quickly kissing my cheek before leaping over to obtain whatever she had seen. She waited for her chance, waiting for the next cycle in which the man would splatter, then taking the item before another man could fall. She came back with a small desk key complete with gourd-shaped keyring. We went up to the principal's office, unlocking the door and stepping through.

The room beyond was ice cold and completely covered in protective charms. A voice filled our ears.  
"I didn't mean for it to happen...it was just a temporary lapse of judgement...it's her fault, she clearly overreacted to the situation!"  
Nasty, coming from a would-be rapist. The words repeated as we explored the room and I stopped at the desk. In one drawer sat a small hemp bag, slathered with blood. I pulled the drawstrings open, and inside sat a human tongue, old and stiffened with age. I cried out with shock, and then everything went dark.

Everything was dark. I could hear the sounds of shovels on dirt, and then light broke through, and there stood principal glaring down at me.  
"Every single night...the same dream...I deeply regret what I did. I can't even truly express how ashamed I am! But how much are you going to make me suffer for it?!" He laughed, clearly insane. "I understand it...I get it...you're just pretending to be dead...but look at the position you're putting me in! I can't let you tell a single living soul about what I did...so I'll have to fix it so you can never tell another living soul ever again." He prised open my jaw and slowly removed my tongue. Except I wasn't me, I was Sachiko, and I barely felt a thing. Then he stabbed me multiple times. It thunked through Sachiko's rotting chest dully.  
"If I ever see you in my dreams again, I'll be back. I'll kill you as many times as it takes."  
With that, he began to shovel dirt back onto me.

The scene switched. I was creeping along the school halls. I briefly caught sight of myself in a mirror. My body was that of a seven-year-old, but still me. I rounded a corner and saw Yoshie tumble down the stairs, her neck breaking as it went. Takamine walked over to her, panicking at the turn of events, then turned to me. "Shinozaki Sachiko-san...you...you saw, didn't you? You just had to see..."  
I backed away a few steps as he approached, then turned and ran. I didn't get far before he caught me by the scruff of my neck. Next I knew, his thick hands were closed around my throat and I couldn't breathe. His hands were gripping so hard and tight I was sure he would crush my pipes completely. I could feel things crack and pop and burst, and all too soon my head hurt and my chest felt like it might explode. It was painful. It hurt. It hurt! It really, really hurt! I didn't know dying would hurt this much! My eyes rolled back in my head and I prayed for the sweet release of death...

And then I awoke, Temari shaking me. "Shikamaru! Wake up, please!"  
I groaned as I sat up, massaging my throat. The tongue was gone.

Wait, no, Matsuri was holding it. "That's Sachiko's tongue." I managed. They looked to it in shock. "I just saw...her death. The principal dug her up after and cut it out...she's buried in the basement..."


	18. Sari

It had been hard to believe that a young girl had killed those children, but Sasuke had lived it. He knew. Now we were back in the hell school. Before us stood Yuki, holding out a statue of an angel. "Here." She began. "I'm sorry I can't do more to help, but this should help you. There's another statue, a red one. You need to meet with the others...due to our momentary awakening, the closed spaces are unstable, the school destroyed. You must be very careful. To appease Sachiko, you must appeal to her humanity...my mind has already come under attack, so when next you see me...run." With that, she faded away.  
"If the closed spaces are collapsing, we should be able to find the others." Sakura mused.  
Stepping out of the classroom, we found everything looked very different. Furthermore, the dark presence and chill in the air was much more...heavy. I struggled to suppress a shudder.  
"We need to find the others and get the hell out of here." I muttered.

We kept walking for a while before Sasuke cleared his throat. "Uh, Sakura? Are you hurt? You have a lot of blood on your...posterior."  
She went bright red. "What?!"  
"Did you scrape yourself? It looks pai-"  
"Shut the hell up!" She tried to look to her back. Sasuke seemed to have no sense of shame. It almost made me laugh. To anyone who knew anything about girls, it would be obvious what happened. I wandered around a little, reading a few papers.  
 _You know why you're here, don't you? You incited Sachiko's anger. Did you count how many times you said the phrase? Did you forget Sachiko? Sachiko is always with you._  
Well, that was disturbing. But it looked like we were stuck here because we flubbed the charm. The sole reason we'd been put through this hell was because we'd angered Sachiko. There were 21 of us, it was easy to miscount...but then Shishio had never said to say it once for Sachiko.

Slowly, we made our way down to the main entranceway, at which point I noticed a notebook on the floor. I rushed forward, scooping the notebook up and flicking it open. There were a few passages about hospitals and stuff before I found Heavenly Host, and a lot of things and equations I didn't understand. These appeared to be 'findings' written by the blonde man earlier. It was labeled 'Deidara's Findings'.  
 _Method of ingress: Obtained. (Requires two or more participants.)_  
 _Method of egress: Obtained. (Will need to gather more information and plan very carefully, but it can be done.)_  
 _  
_ _Encountered fierce spiritual resistance while simply researching the Shinozaki estate. Right side of body paralyzed. Left eardrum ringing. Orbs visible in photographs. Influence confirmed. Severe dizziness, nausea and bloody BM experienced. Symptoms persist for weeks. Significant danger is clearly present. Next investigation will place others at risk. May be best to leave others behind._  
 _  
_ _Seems he returned empty-handed again today. How many times has that happened with this publisher? He writes such interesting pieces, but never receives due credit. They're too daft. They don't appreciate him. Poor guy can't catch a break... But all that will change once his next serial is published. I'll do everything in my power to help him._  
 _  
_"These are notes about Heavenly Host by that blonde guy!" I told them, hands shaking in excitement. "At least, I think it's him."  
Sasuke came forward and checked the notebook. "The name fits."  
After that page, all the pages had been torn out. We went north until I noticed another stack of papers.  
 _I had a final exam today, so I went to school for the first time in quite a while. Seems while I was gone, Tobi came here to Heavenly Host without me. "It's too dangerous! We don't have enough data!" he said, trying to justify why he'd skulk into this sacred ground behind my back. His assistant, Shinga, most likely put him up to it. I did give him all the details on how to return home from here, and it's a fairly simple process...but I can't help worrying about him nonetheless._  
 _  
_ _At any rate, the blog's been updated. And I do feel bad about dragging my friend Kisame into this...but it's time to dive headfirst into these trenches, and really feel out what this place is all about..._  
I paused, reading this all aloud. "...There's a way out of here even if we don't succeed in appeasing Sachiko."  
"We are appeasing her." Sakura insisted, scowling.  
"I know...it's more a last resort...a promise to protect the others we can find, even if they can't join us to appease her. It's a just in case thing... _if_ we can find the method."  
There wasn't much more on this floor of the building. Unrelated notes and papers, bodies, holes in the floor, shallow steps...it was strange. Everything had changed so completely. We traveled down to the first floor.  
The next floor up had some more notes in it.  
 _Herein I will detail the proper observance of Sachiko Shinozaki's charm, as well as a means of reversing its effects and returning home._  
No...no...it couldn't be.  
The information he had put on the blog that Shishio had read had been false. He had purposely given the incorrect information.

We passed the halls, and as we passed a set of windows, blood hammered against them. We jumped, and then Sasuke went in, frowning. We followed obediently. Right by the door stood what looked like a skinned woman with a sheet over her head. It must have just been an anatomical model, we agreed. We passed on through the room, between the science room's tables. Another body was perched on a chair as though working, and Sakura found some more notes. "It's hard to read, but it's the same handwriting."  
Indeed, the pages were slathered in blood.  
 _Tobi, I'm so sorry... My readings were far too broad, and my interpretations of them overly naive. This place is not the simple plane of spirits I'd previously surmised it to be. If we don't get out of here a.s.a.p., we'll be in real danger..._  
 _  
_ _...until a more reliable method is found. Until then, please, PLEASE be safe...I want to see you again, Tobi. More than anything, I want to feel your hands in my hair._  
We turned, but something struck me as off. "...Wasn't that model by the door before?"  
Sasuke turned to glare at me. "Are you trying to freak us out?"  
I felt like it was working. The model suddenly moved, approaching Sasuke from behind.  
"Sasuke, I genuinely think-"  
"Shut up! Don't say it! Don't even think it! I hate you!"  
The model reached for his throat, letting out an inhuman moan, and Sakura quickly pulled him out of the model's grasp.  
"Run!" She shouted. "It's trying to kill us!" We all headed for the door, but as we came close, it slammed shut before us and locked.  
"No!" I cried, feeling tears spring up in my eyes. Another, deeper inhuman moan filled our ears.

Yanagihori Yoshikazu was in there.

Where the hell had he come from?! Sakura dashed between the benches and we focused on not getting caught. She returned with a key and frantically, desperately tried to open the door. We ran out, slamming the door behind us, and went to hide in another room to get our breath back.

In this room, there were more sheets of bloody paper. These pages, however, were otherwise blank. Staring at them gave me a headache, a wave of outside emotion rushing over me. It was as though Deidara's emotion was projected upon these pages.

Then letters began to appear on the paper. It was as though they were being written there and then. I could hear his voice. At first I thought it was just in my head, but Sasuke and Sakura could hear it too. They were shocked, looking for the source before they realised it was coming from the papers.  
 _I can smell him. I'm getting closer. Soon I'll be able to touch him again, taste him again. My consciousness is fading, my hands turning black...but I'm alright. I'll be with him again soon, after all._  
 _  
_Then the letters stopped, but the voice continued.  
 _  
_ _I found you, Tobi. I found the room you ran to. Why are you running away?_  
 _  
_ _I found you. I'm going to hug you now. I missed you so very much._  
 _  
_ _Everything has gone dark. My body is a black mist._  
 _  
_"What the hell...?"  
We exchanged glances and Sakura shook her head. "Sounds like he met an unpleasant end." We left the classroom, going up the stairs into the reference room. When we asked why Sasuke was leading us there, he simply said 'Deidara'.

"Deidara." He greeted darkly as he entered the library. The man turned slowly, looking up from the book in his hands.  
"Uchiha Sasuke-kun. How's it going, un?"  
"You've done a lot of research...were you aware Yoshikazu did not kill the children? The true killer was Sachiko-sama."  
"This is valuable data indeed...though you've only solved half the mystery, un. You've yet to figure out who, exactly, Sachiko-sama is. At any rate, there's someone I must find, so if you'll excuse me..." He turned and went to leave, but Sasuke stopped him.  
"I'm not done speaking to you yet."  
"But I've lost interest in what you have to say, un."  
"I'm disappointed in you."  
"And who are you other than another Uchiha brat?"  
"Because of this!" He tore the notes from my hands and thrust them at Deidara. "What's this Sachiko Ever After crap? And this about the ruins of the Shinozaki estate?"

 _The spell trigger is the phrase, "Sachiko, we beg of you."_  
 _  
_ _It must be chanted once for each participant, then one additional time for Sachiko. Following this, the proxy doll is to be torn apart. (Should the proxy doll recovered from the ruins of the old Shinozaki estate be unavailable...a printed facsimile will suffice for the purposes of this ritual.)_  
 _  
_ _If everything is performed as indicated, the spirit will pass by harmlessly, and nothing of note should occur. If any part of this ritual is performed incorrectly, however, then Sachiko herself will descend upon any viable spirit medium in the vicinity...and all present will be afflicted with her curse and spirited away to the sacred ground._  
 _  
_ _If you have angered Sachiko, you can atone for this by performing the ritual correctly in reverse._  
 _  
_"You intentionally put the incorrect instructions on the blog Shishio got them from. You wanted the ritual to fail, apparently for your 'beloved' Tobi's sake. You wanted him to have a large sample size for this article he was writing."  
Deidara started to laugh.  
"What's so funny?"  
"You think you're so smart, but you're not, un. Go fish."  
I was confused. "What does that mean?"  
"He's saying it's a lie." Sasuke answered, fists clenching.  
"Anyone who takes things they see on the internet and takes it wholesale is a complete dumbass, un."  
"You're shaking...you can't tell me you never once thought this would occur. Your little whim sent so many people to a slow, painful death. You spread Sachiko's curse all over the world!"  
"Don't you think I don't know that, un? But Tobi, my dear Tobi...he smiles at me when I do right by him...Tobi, my sweet, delicious Tobi...I would do anything to make you smile! You occult freaks can go die in a corner for all I care, un."  
"Deidara...you died here..."  
"And?"  
"Do you remember your death? Where you were, what you saw, who you were with?"  
"I...don't, actually...that's the one moment I can't recall, no matter how hard I try, un."  
"Your selfish nature cost you the one you loved most." Sasuke spat.  
"...What...?"  
"You don't remember...your last actions, before you died but after losing all hope...You succumbed to the darkening, the darkness of this school overtook you, but didn't dissolve you." Once again, he thrust the pages at him. Deidara paled, started letting out a fearful moan.  
"You get it, don't you? You killed Tobi! You killed him! You killed the man you loved! You took his life with your own bare hands!"  
Deidara's moans transformed into screams of agony and black smoke and liquid begun pouring from his mouth and nose, choking him as he staggered about in pain. It surrounded him and he gazed at us with pleading blue eyes, and then melted into the floor. All that remained was a black, human-shaped mark, and a red statue.

Near the custodian's closet, there was a room with two pedestals. I placed the two statues there, and a door opened up, leading down, down into what appeared to be a basement.

As we descended the steps, a voice rang out.  
"Turn back...please...turn back..." A spirit appeared before us. It was Sachiko, but she was wearing a yellow dress instead of a red one, and looked at us with pleading eyes. As we continued on. she began to turn red. "I said turn back! Stay away!"  
Then the three of us fell into something wet and chunky, and the spirit giggled.

We found ourselves in a pool of rotting bodies, but quickly pulled ourselves out before the disgusting stew could stick. I noticed a familiar face among the mix, but I said nothing, just wanting to get out of there. After walking out and just a few steps, we encountered something...I'd have to say amazing.

From one direction came a tired looking Naruto and Hinata, who Sakura greeted with excited countenance and open arms. From the other, came my friend Matsuri, alongside Gaara-sama, his siblings and Temari's boyfriend. I gave my friend a strong hug and we quickly worked out what had happened, sharing our findings on Sachiko and how to get out of this place alive.

Matsuri then for some reason went into the body pool.  
"Matsuri, no!" I followed her, but it was too late. Already she was stood among the bodies, staring down at the remains of Mikoshi. She knelt beside him, examining his stabbed out eye and finally she picked something up and wiped her eyes, coming back with her ID. At least she could go home...

It hurt to think that out of 21 people, us 10 were all that remained.

As we approached the room that held the body of Sachiko, a spirit appeared before us. It was Yuki. "Sasuke, Sakura, Sari..." She mumbled. "Don't give in."  
Everyone exchanged confused glances. "One of your number has been stricken with the darkening. There's still time to stop it, but only if you hurry. She's here, just beyond the next room. Whether or not you'll be able to return home depends entirely on her. Hurry, quickly. You should be able to appease Sachiko...just make sure you're ready...and the way out is to touch Sachiko's heart." She raised her hand, pointing first to the tongue in Matsuri's hand, and then to the stuffed animal in Kankurou's. Then, she disappeared. Kankurou handed the doll to Matsuri and we walked through. We passed the hanging body of Yoshikazu and tried our best to ignore it, then on to a room with recently disturbed dirt. A thick, oppressive air threatened to burst a blood vessel in my head. In fact, Gaara even staggered, nose already pumping out blood. His brother moved in to support him, and Matsuri stepped forward. The earth began to move itself, showing the mutilated body of the young girl as the other three child spirits appeared in the corners.  
"I told you not to come! Don't come any closer! Don't look at me!" The spirit shrieked.  
"Sachiko?" Matsuri called. "Sachiko, please listen, we-!"  
"Leave!"  
I decided to help. We had agreed earlier that Sachiko's appeasement would be left to me. "Sachiko, please, we mean you no harm!"  
"Leave now, or I'll kill you!"  
"We're not getting through to her." Shikamaru observed.

Then, all of a sudden, we couldn't move a muscle. We were paralysed. "Is everyone alright?" I called in concern.  
"My ears!" Hinata cried.  
Sachiko stepped forward and approached the most injured member of our party, Kankurou. His eyes widened in fear as she came closer. She raised a pair of scissors and sunk them into his stomach, through what appeared to be a makeshift bandage formed of Gaara-sama's coat sleeve. He doubled over with a strangled cry.  
"Wh-what are you doing to me?" He managed. She raised her scissors again and this time stabbed through the shoulder of his good arm. He screamed and Temari snarled at her.  
"Sachiko, you bitch, leave him alone!"  
Another Sachiko appeared before the body, dressed in yellow.  
"Girls, hurry!" Sasuke urged.  
"Sachiko!" I called. "This is a part of you, it was taken away from your body! Open your eyes, please!" I thrust forward the bag with the tongue inside, and the girl in the yellow dress hung her head.  
"Mummy...you promised..."  
Matsuri spoke next. "Your mum's suffering just as much as you are. The things you're doing aren't making her happy at all!" She offered the plush cat to the girl's spirit, and she looked up, observing us with sad eyes. Behind us, Naruto gave a shout of victory.  
"I can move-ttebayo! It must be working!"  
"Who...?" Sachiko began uncertainly. "Where's mummy?"  
Then she began screaming in agony, and the entire basement shook.  
"Everyone!" Sakura commanded. "Take out your paper doll scraps!"  
"Sachiko, hear our pleas! We want to go home! That's what charms really are... They represent our regards for other people! They're like microcosms of the soul, right? You and your mom both suffered such horrible fates...but all we want to do is free you from that suffering!"  
"Sachiko-san, we beg of you!"  
"Sachiko-san, we beg of you!"  
"Sachiko-san, we beg of you!"  
"Sachiko-san, we beg of you!"  
"Sachiko-san, we beg of you!"  
"Sachiko-san, we beg of you!"  
"Sachiko-san, we beg of you!"  
"Sachiko-san, we beg of you!"  
"S-Sachiko-san, we beg of you!"  
"Sachiko-san, we beg of you!"  
"Sachiko-san, we beg of you!"  
A white like enveloped us as we thrust the scraps of paper together and chanted, one at a time, then all at once. Then, Yuki appeared before us. "Now...is your only chance to escape. The veil between your world and this one is at its thinnest. You need to hurry and get outside the building before it closes. Complete the ritual. Once it closes, this nexus will return to the way it was, and you'll have lost your chance to get out."  
"And...what will happen to all of you?" Sasuke asked.  
"We've become part of these spaces. Apart from Sachiko, none of us can be saved. For now, I'm free. It won't last long though. The school has already begun to create a new Sachiko. Go, before it's too late!"  
We ran. Ran out of the bomb shelter while behind us a bell chimed, like that of an old grandfather clock. We ran up the stairs, panicking all the way, afraid we may never get out. As the bell chimed, the air became thicker. We ran out to the covered walkway...

...And all awoke within Shishio's bedroom.

 **AN: All that's left is the aftermath. However, if requested, I may do extras on characters like Korobi, Lee, Deidara, Sasame, ones who appear as corpses only and some who are only ever mentioned, like Shinga, Shizuka and Kisame.**


	19. Aftermath

Everyone parted ways. The sand siblings went home, and afraid to go home by herself, Matsuri stayed close to her friends. Gaara offered for her to spend the night at his home and she accepted. Though she still had his bloodied handkerchief over her neck and Kankurou still had the sleeve tied around his stomach, their injuries seemed to be gone. Sakura and Sasuke stayed close to one another, one having seen the weaker side of the other, and the other having seen the strong, unshakable side of the first. The Konoha delegation stuck together and went home that night, mourning the loss of their friend.

When they returned to Konoha and tried to tell Tenten the bad news, she had no recollection of Rock Lee whatsoever. In fact, it almost seemed as though none of those who had died within Heavenly Host existed in the first place. Gaara could not find a single record on his late friends, team Ameno or Matsuri's team mates. All they were left with was that frightening, hellraising ordeal and the trauma that came with it.

He and Matsuri stuck together for a while. He seemed almost afraid that he could lose control at any moment, and she was his anchor, giving him love and comfort at every turn.

Temari didn't seem very outwardly changed, though her concern for her siblings and friends had increased tenfold. Kankurou for the first few days was afraid to leave his room, feigning illness. When he found no-one remembered his friends, he stopped talking to others, aside from the odd reply to his siblings.

Matsuri was able to stay strong. She never cried when anyone was watching, always waiting for when she was in private to allow her emotions free, but when in private, she cried a lot. Sari would beat up anyone who dared to say Yukata and Mikoshi never existed. Nobody would ever get away with disrespecting her closest friends. She even sometimes spoke to them. Their spirits came to visit her, she insisted.

Naruto made a memorial for Lee. He, Sakura and Shikamaru visited it often to give their excitable friend updates on the world around them. They liked to think he would enjoy their company, even if the one person he was closest to would never turn up. Shikamaru felt irreparably guilty every time he saw someone from Sunagakure. As though it was his fault. If he'd just looked at the charm beforehand, this whole thing could have been avoided...he could have saved everyone if only he'd used his brain.


	20. Extra Chapter 1: Kakuzu

**AN: I know nobody asked for more so I'm sorry I wrote more, but I had ideas for a chapter for Kakuzu and a chapter for Deidara so I had to write them. Deidara's planning only went up to the point he entered Heavenly Host, and I've planned the fate of Kisame, but for the rest to be written I will return to 'under request' because otherwise nobody will want me to write more and it will just be a pain for all to force it...so...enjoy about as much as you did the previous ones.**

I don't recall the original purpose we gathered for. It seems like such a long time ago. I don't think it was any kind of malicious purpose, strangely enough, considering some of the people we had there. I was, however, on friendly terms with all of them. If any terms I had with anyone could be called friendly. I didn't want to murder them every second I spent in their company, I can say that much at least. Still, when the girls started talking about charms and whatnot, I admit I stopped paying attention. Perhaps that means it was I who flubbed the charm and got us trapped here. Best not to dwell on that for now, however.

I awoke on the splintery, sharp floor to the none too pleasant sensation of someone kicking me repeatedly in the ribs and muttering 'wake up' over and over. It was punctuated by the odd swear and mutter of how the situation was a dire one (though not in so many words). My first thought was that Hidan sure was a loud one. And beyond annoying at even the best of times. My second thought was that I'd kill him if he didn't stop kicking me. I was quick to voice that particular thought.

"I'd quit kicking if you'd get the fuck up already." He muttered, but backed off nonetheless. He retreated to the side of someone curled over and seemingly sobbing, but made no effort to calm her, predictably. He just leaned against the wall and waited for me, and I was quick to oblige. One look around myself told me this wasn't the sort of place I wanted to stay in for long. I could tell that many a powerful fighter had died here. Met with violent and tragic ends, no doubt.

"Fu?" I inquired sharply.

"Says her head hurts like a motherfucker. Can't get her to stand up either."

I glanced to the girl hunched over again and noticed now that she was clearly in pain, gripping her head so hard the nails were breaking and blood was beginning to bead up. "We can't stay here." I pointed out before hauling her up, much to her displeasure. She cried out and beat her hands against my chest. It didn't take long for me to realise I could not simply restrain her. Instead of letting that show to Hidan, I grabbed her wrists and dragged her after me.

"So where the fuck are we going?"

"As I said, we can't stay here. We are heading to the exit."

"Which is where...?"

"We'll find it."

We were on the third floor of...whatever this was. A few peeks into rooms along the hall suggested this was a school of some sort, but that just seemed ridiculous. Priority 1 remained getting to the bottom floor and getting out of here though. The floor had fallen out in many places, impeding our progress, but we could use the odd loose board if it really came down to it...and one of those boards actually stretched far enough.

Instead, however, tragedy struck our pathetic little party all too soon. Around the time Fu was talking about having to find the others, Yuuka, Meno, Kosuke, Iwana and Agara, a sentiment I was finding very frustrating, we passed another large hole in the floor. Fu and I did not notice the spirit standing on a weakening support beam that remained where the floorboards should have been, but Hidan did.

It was a little boy, no older than 8 or 9, blood staining what I assumed to be a jumper. When he spoke to Hidan, it came out as a garbled mess, as though the child had seriously damaged his tongue. "Ie uu kha mae?"

We all heard it speak, and so Fu and I backtracked to Hidan's side and saw the child. And Hidan, who clearly found doing painfully idiotic things fun, turned and gazed lovingly into the spirit's eyes. The boy's features twisted in fury, and he hissed, mouth wide open, and now we saw why he spoke strangely. He _had no tongue_. We couldn't focus on that long, though, as Hidan has just done something else painfully idiotic. He had stepped out onto the thin, crumbling beams the spirit was standing on.

"Hidan! get back here, you idiot! What do you think you're doing?"

"I can't fucking move!" He snapped back, not even glancing our way. Even so, he stepped farther out. "I swear I'm not fucking doing this myself...fuck, make it stop!" I fear he may have been panicking. After all, none of us had ever faced a spirit before. Who knew what it could do to us? Frowning, I stepped forward, reaching out to grab the collar of his cloak, only for the floor to give way beneath my foot. I almost unbalanced into the hole, but Fu caught me and _barely_ managed to haul me back to safety.

"I can't, Hidan. You have to snap out of it yourself."

"I fucking can't!" And with that, as if to prove his point, the beam gave way beneath him, and he plummeted into the darkness below, calling my name as he did so.

I returned the favour. "HIDAN!" I called into the hole, getting to my hands and knees to try and see in. Fu clung to me, as though afraid I might fall in as well. Still, she was helpful.

"Hidan! if you can hear us, just swear! Loudly!"

Alas, no swear drifted up. Our resident religious nutcase was lost. Hopefully for good.

"I don't think he can hear us." Fu noted before jumping up. "Still, we can't give up, and maybe he's just knocked out." She offered her hand, and I ignored it and picked myself up.

"We can't get downstairs unless we find a way to bridge some of these gaps."

"Well...I think I might have seen something...somewhere..."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, in one of the classrooms, there was a door, but it was behind a glass cabinet...a heavy looking one at that."

"Which classroom?"

"Um..." She tilted her head back to think. I felt my shoulders slump as she proved herself more and more useless.

"Come on, Fu. Time is money."

"I don't remember. They all look the same and I didn't think it was important at the time..."

And so it happened that we had to search each and every classroom.

I was just about able to push the cabinet out of the way of the door and shoulder-barge it open. The door behind the cabinet led to a strange, narrow room, with no board, decor, tables, chairs or desks. It was bare but for a strange, purple crank wheel piece on the far end, with various practically invisible strands of thin, sharpened wire webbing out into the walls and ceilings. I tested the crank and found it stiff and rusted, but not impossible to move. I forced it down a notch and watched the wheel change the location of each and every strand. With that, we turned to leave. Fu left first, and I went to follow. I left the room, but then I heard an unsettling voice.

"Wait...look..."

And I did as told, looking back into the thin room.

"Kaku-" She cut off with a scream, but I didn't need to look to see why. The door had slid shut, by itself, with incredible force, trapping my neck in the gap. I dug my fingers into the gap, trying to open it back out, but the more I pushed, the more it pushed back, so I dropped my fingers away. I had to think of something else before it choked the life out of me. "Fu...don't help...we don't-ghllg...know what this place will do next..." I broke off with a cough.

"O-okay, if you're sure..."

I twisted and squirmed like a bug stuck on its back, desperately trying to escape. With the door clamping tightly on my neck, I could feel the blood rushing to my head. I couldn't breathe. Something shattered behind me, and the floor rushed to greet me as I blacked out, the door calmly sliding open the moment I fell.

Thankfully, I did manage to awaken. Fu was standing over me in concern.

"Wha...?"

"Oh thank goodness! Are you okay?"

I forced myself to sit up, nodding stiffly. "I'll live." A quick glance told me everything...shattery in the room was still in one piece, which led me to one question. "What broke...?"

She stared at me blankly for a moment before realisation dawned on her. "Do you think it might have been...?"

The masks on my back, she meant. It wasn't hard to check, and indeed, I had lost a heart. I'd lost a heart getting my head stuck in a door, of all the things!...At least that stupid thing still worked. Fu helped me to my feet and escorted me back out into the halls. If there was one thing we'd learnt, it was that we must not trust voices we can't confirm to be those of someone we know.

The halls themselves were surprising to say the least. The layout had changed a bit. There were some wires we needed to avoid now, but the gaps in the floor had been bridged. Was this what that crank did?

Either way, we were now able to access the second floor. There wasn't much down there, but for a bloodied wire at roughly waist height, a pool of blood below it, fresh, but with no body or trail to show where it came from. Strange. We couldn't find much down there, but we did find the next set of stairs down with no bother at all. It seemed we were home free, but when we located the front doors, they would not open.

"Open!" Fu commanded over and over like a brain damaged parrot. I shook my head and wandered off a little. She caught up in no time, but the important part was where she found me. I'd stopped by a hole in a classroom. I was trying to open a window.

"It must be locked." I mused.

"It's like a fucking decoration, just like everything else in that damn room. Nothing fucking moves."

"...Hidan?"

"...Down the hole, fucktard."

I glanced down the hole as Fu came in, and indeed, in the shadows, I could just make out a bit of fair skin, dark eyes and grey hair. "What are you doing down there?"

"I fell, idiot. Remember?"

"Get out of there then."

A long silence, and then "I can't. I need help."

It didn't look too deep, so I removed my cloak and dangled it down the hole. "Grab hold."

A grunt and shuffle, sounds of straining. "Can't reach."

"Try throwing your cloak up."

"What?"

"Just do it."

"This is ridiculous as shit." Even so, a moment later, the cloak brushed the edge of the hole and I went to grab it. It slipped from my grasp.

"Almost got it. Try again."

"Fuck you." It came into view again, and this time I reacted faster and just managed to grab it. I knotted our cloaks together and hung the resulting makeshift rope over the edge.

"Can you reach it now, Hidan?"

"Yeah, got it!"

"I'm going to pull you up."

"Hang on." The sound of movement and more swearing suggested he was getting a better grip on the cloak. The cloaks were yanked violently, almost pulled from my grip, but I said nothing. "Okay, yank away!"

With a roll of my eyes, I pulled until he came into view and pulled himself out with one arm. The left dangled uselessly by his side and he was spotted with blood. His left leg didn't seem to be functioning right either. He'd tied the base cloak around his waist. Strangely smart idea for him. He paused to get his breath back, then gestured loosely to his injuries.

"I can't fix that."

"What?!"

"I can't use any jutsu, Hidan. I've tried. And I can't manipulate my threads."

"Me neither." Fu added pointlessly.

"Can't you fucking do anything?"

"No. Get up." I growled.

"I can't." He hissed. I took the opportunity to deliver a swift kick to his ribs.

Unable to escape through the front door or any of the windows, we went searching through every door. Eventually, we found a steel door behind a large, ragged hole in the floor. Oh, yes, and Hidan was not kidding about being unable to walk. I was carrying the imbecile on my back, as he was too heavy for Fu to carry, and he would make good bait should the spirits return. With his extra weight altering my balance, it was a struggle to skirt around the edges of the hole. Fu bounced around as though completely weightless, and pushed the heavy-looking door open with the smallest flick of her wrist. Strange, but I ignored it and followed, letting her take charge while I focused on shutting out the irritating babble of my ever irritating partner. Well, that was until I felt something whistle past my cheek. My hood and mask split as though sliced, and I felt something warm and wet trickle down my face from what was beginning to rise as a stinging pain. Hidan had stopped talking, and I eased him off my back. Ahead, Fu had stopped walking. A few steps toward her to check what was going on was nothing, or should have been nothing, but my entire body seized up when I heard her choking. A second later, her head fell from her shoulders, landing at my feet, and her body crumbled after, spraying blood in my general direction. Before her, previously hidden by her body, stood what may have been a small child once, but now was an ethereal glow in the shape of a small humanoid with her head lopped off from the jawline up. She had taken Fu's head just like that. I backed up a little, and then Hidan screamed.

"The lhibbing ahh so wahhm... I wahhn to feel moah..."

Whirling round, I found the ghost boy from before had, seemingly with inhuman levels of strength, grabbed Hidan by the hair and forced him face first into the ground. Bones were cracking, and if he survived this, he'd likely be deformed. But then the child stopped, before any major damage could be done. Perhaps a dislocated jaw or cracked cheek bone at most. Instead, the child hissed once more and locked eyes with my partner again. Hidan went limp and fell silent. I don't know what drove me to trying to protect that stupid lump, but I ran to the spirit, attempted to grab Hidan and drag him to safety, but as I neared, a grip of iron latched onto my arm. The grip burned, and was so tight it seemed to push aside muscle and fat and clamp right onto the bone. It was agonising, and I screamed, and I heard a strange, gurgling laugh, accompanied by that of a normal little girl.

"Give it back..." The second voice hissed. I didn't have a chance to find the source before something unimaginably excruciating happened. Something was pushed into my eye. The organ burst in an instant, offering little resistance to the rusted blade plunged into my skull. I reared back, screaming as waves of pure agony triggered a primal response. I reached up to pull the item out on instinct, and the handle suggested a pair of scissors had been used to torment me. Just touching them lightly brought new waves of torture. The sound of the foreign object scraping against my eye socket echoed mercilessly, bypassing my eardrums and going straight to my brain. Every heartbeat made the pain worse, but in turn the pain caused my heart to beat faster, creating a vicious cycle until I finally passed out into a sweet release, feeling the starts of what may have been an earthquake.

Another heart failed me. When I awoke, I was down to three, but still alive. Still in a lot of pain. Reaching up, I found the scissors had been removed, and my face was stained with blood, some hair that had escaped my hood sticking to my skin as a result. I staggered away, not sparing a glance to Hidan and Fu, who both looked to nowhere in particular with soulless, dulled gazes, as though the light of life had long since left them. I got back into the main building, and, covering my busted eye with one hand, paused to get a look at the hole so I could skirt round safely. To my surprise, however, the floor was in one piece, but somewhat bowed in the centre. Frowning, I crouched by the bowed point. There was a particularly loose board, so I reached in under it and my hand clamped around a soft, somewhat coarse sack. I pulled it out and found myself holding a small hemp bag soaked liberally with blood. I eased the bag open and found myself faced with a human tongue. It was small, a child's by the looks of it, and with a jolt, I saw those two children. The girl with no head and the boy who always attacked Hidan. They'd both taken my fr-...my companions. And neither had tongues. Well, those little shits could spend eternity without tongues for all I cared!

With that thought, I found myself flying through the building like a bat out of hell, looking for somewhere to hide this bag and doing my best to avoid the notices tacked up here and there. I hadn't read any before, but I knew none of them had skulls, and all these had the same words on them. It was unnerving.

I finally found a room I hadn't been to yet, a door I hadn't noticed before. I eased myself in and found what appeared to be a locker room or shower room. There was even a filthy school uniform folded in a rushed manner in one of the cubbies. The cubbies were not good enough though. I surged onwards and found a swimming pool with a spigot to fill the whole thing. It was pelting down with rain, and all too soon I was soaked to the bone, but provided the water was turned off, I could hide the tongue up the tap. I tested the tap, and it sputtered and groaned and a trickle of filthy, likely contaminated water escaped it. It was at that point that I realised I was dreadfully thirsty, but I put that to the back of my head. I needed to find a way to turn off the water so it couldn't push the tongue out so easily. I skirted the edge of the pool and found what appeared to be a pump room of sorts. It took a while to find the right pipes and valve, primarily because the entire place was shrouded in darkness. When I did, I twisted the valve until it would go no longer, and then pulled and twisted and shook until the valve came free in my hands. I jogged out to the pool and threw the wheel into the pool, watching it sink. Once again, I tried the tap, and this time, no water at all came out. Pleased, I stuffed the tongue in there so far it would never be found unless you knew where to look already. Then, I went to go back inside...

...But someone or something grabbed me from behind. I don't know what happened truly, it was a blur, but then I was in the pool, and I could feel hands drag me down, like the bodies of people long since drowned were coming to life and dragging me under. I desperately tried to drag myself to the surface, but I couldn't. I couldn't shake free and I couldn't breathe, and murky, contaminated water was rushing into my burst eye, taking my mind off my aching lungs as once more, unfiltered agony shot through my head.

Again, I passed out. Again, I lost a heart. Down to two.

And then air rushed into my lungs and I was coughing, spluttering, gasping in desperate breaths, and tuning into chatter above my head.

"...Took you fucking look enough. Jashin damn it, I may be unable to walk but at least I'm not sitting at the bottom of a green-infested pool full of...of green shit just thrashing around like a Jashin-damned idiot."

"Hi...Hidan...?"

"You back with the living, dumbass?" He helped me sit up, and I coughed violently before throwing up. Funnily enough, that helped remove the sour taste from the pool water. When vomit tastes better, you know it tastes insanely awful. I felt a hand rubbing my back, and my hair hung heavy and wet over my face and shoulders. My hood and mask were gone. How this idiotic nutcase was turning up every time I was in danger was beyond me.

"How did you...where did...?" I coughed again, shaking my head and trying to clear it. "What happened?"

"Found you in a pool just flailing like a fucking crazy nutjob. By the time I got to you, you'd stopped breathing. You fucking owe me, I brought you back to life. I'm fucking Frankenstein! man, this is awesome!"

"Shut up."

"Bite me."

I pondered it for a moment before heaving a sigh. "As long as you didn't give me mouth to mouth...you didn't, did you?"

He turned away, refusing to meet my eyes. If I didn't know any better I'd say he was ashamed. And he hesitated. "Noooo...?" It was unconvincing as all hell. "That would just be fucking gross. Like you, dumbass." It confused me as to how he had managed to get all the way here from the covered walkway without the use of his legs, especially since he had seemed completely out for the count, and still then managed to drag me out of a pool of living dead with one arm. With those bodies pulling me down, he must have used some serious strength.

"The bodies...in the pool..." I managed. My voice was coming back hoarse.

"Yeah, those were fucking gross as well. You jump in there or fall in? Guess you wanted to join your buddies or something."

"They wouldn't let me surface..."

"They're dead."

"They were dragging me down..."

"They were nowhere near you." He regarded me with a curious look for a moment before an idea came to his thick skull. "Hey, maybe you were under a genjutsu!"

"What are you talking about? Jutsu don't work here."

"Those ghosts seem to use them. The second time I looked into that little shit's eyes I passed out and woke up in a hole. I think I was being buried alive, but it was a genjutsu, it wasn't real! I know because after ages he gave up and I woke up back outside, where you left me next to a fucking headless corpse, thank you very much."

"I was under attack..." I managed to force myself to my feet.

"Genjutsu." Hidan repeated, only this time he tried to add a 'spooky' tone to his voice and even wiggled his fingers for good measure. Idiot.

"No, I was really under attack. I lost an eye." I grabbed his broken arm and hauled him up, pleased with the shout it brought, and slung it over my shoulders. That way, he could at least hop along instead of relying on me completely.

"And a heart...you're down to two. This place really that bad?"

"This place is beyond dangerous. We need to find a way out of here."

"You think we could scale the fence around the pool?"

"No. It's too high and there are no foot holds." It occurred to me that even if we did get out of the school, with thick forest every which way, we'd likely never find our way out, but I chose not to voice this aloud. Not sure if it was for my sake or his. There was nowhere to go I hadn't checked already, so we stopped for planning, and that was when another earthquake shook the school to its very foundations. Bits of floor fell out around us, plaster and wood falling into our hair. We pushed ourselves tight against the wall, clung to one another and bowed our heads, trying to make ourselves as small as possible lest something fall on us. It seemed to last hours upon hours with no sign of ceasing, and for the longest time I felt this would be the moment I died.

When it finally ended and we sprung apart, we were by the steel door again.

At first, we were reluctant to enter the second wing on the other side of the covered walkway. Still, there was nothing for us in the main building, and exploring as much as we could was a good idea. When we stepped out onto the covered walkway, a scream pierced the air, and someone shoved past. She was terrified of something, and barely stopping for breath.

"Meno!" I snapped, trying to get her attention. She stopped by Fu's remains, though thankfully had not yet clocked them. Her eyes met mine and they were full of unshed tears of pure terror.

"You...you have to run! Don't trust her! We can't trust anyone! I can't trust anyone, they're all going to kill us! She'll kill us all! We're all going to go mad here!" She sobbed and screamed, and I noticed she had teeth missing.

"She's fucking craaaazyyyy..." Hidan sang into my ear. I elbowed him to shut him up.

"Meno, what's going on? Who's hurting you?" If it was the spirits, we were starting to get to know them, but she was making it sound like it was someone we knew.

"She...she..." She stopped, eyes meeting the unseeing gaze of Fu. With that, she erupted into another flurry of screams and thundered into the second wing. We followed with haste, especially since whosoever had horrified Meno so completely was likely behind us.

The second wing was far smaller, and there was something about this place that seemed much darker than before. I started to believe this had been a mistake almost instantly, as voices rung out in my head. Voices of pain, a mire of agony and torment the likes of which I had never experienced. A few minutes were spent standing there, unable to move for the unbearable feeling coursing through my veins. The feeling that I had just doomed myself to an agonising demise. Then I lost control and started pulling desperately at the door, only to find no matter how hard I tried it would not open.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

I was jolted back to reality, but the unshakable feeling of impending doom was still there. "We shouldn't be here, Hidan. This place...it's far more dangerous than anywhere we've been before."

"What, and you're scared?" I turned to glare at him. This was not the time to be messing about or making fun, but the look on his face...I think it was genuine concern, though he was trying to hide it. And he too may have been afraid, considering what he'd just seen. My face softened and I thought for a moment.

"We have to be especially careful here. And we need to find Meno." I went back to supporting him and we made our way around the building. There was a men's bathroom on the bottom floor, and a girls' one on the next floor up, but it was covered with protective charms of some sort. Also on this floor stood an art room and music room, and the top floor had an office of sorts that refused to open. We could not locate Meno until we returned to the second floor. She ran to us, a palette knife in hand, screaming and crying still.

"She's here! She's after me! I can't trust anyone!" She continued to sob, and I placed my hands on her shoulders.

"Meno, calm down."

"Get off me!" She shrieked, swinging the knife at me. It was sharper than I first thought, but only grazed my cheek as Hidan pulled me out of the way. Our feet tangled and we tumbled to the ground, and Meno leaped over us and bolted down the stairs like a gazelle on steroids.

"No luck here." We turned to the hall. It was a woman's voice. I exchanged looks with Hidan and we scrambled up. Meno was being chased by a woman, after all. In my panic, I ran upstairs, tried the office door. It didn't open and we paused, listening to the sets of footsteps. Two sets, both heading down, talk about going into the forest beyond the covered walkway. Looked like we were safe. Until we headed to the doorway and another earthquake struck. I managed to position myself in the doorway, hanging on tight until the shaking finally stopped.

"For fuck's sake, I swear this Jashin-damned school's falling to shit..." I glanced over to Hidan, who had sprawled over the ground. "I don't feel safe this high, this place could fall apart at any damn second."

"Should we go back down to the first floor?" I asked, offering a hand to him which he took with sloppy hands.

"Get down there and stay there. Or vault the walkway, then we're at least out of this hellhole."

"The forest is not a safe bet until we know more about where we are." I pointed out, but traveled downstairs anyway.

"There's no way of finding out unless we fucking look." He muttered, and as much as I hated to admit it, it looked like Hidan was right.

From the bottom floor, we could hear a strange sound, kind of like a scraping of a heavy metal object across the old, wooden floor. We got down to the bottom floor, but it was still a fair walk to the main entrance and exit from this nightmare. But of course it wouldn't be as easy as that.

The man in front of the door stood at 7 feet at least, but probably way taller. He was large, impossibly so, with what I assumed to be muscle far superior to any I'd seen, but he wasn't without extra weight around the waist. He was grey, rotting away, mouth wide and leaking saliva and groans of pain and confusion. His eyes glowed red with a dark fury. In his hand he held a large hammer, or maybe an axe with those sharp edges. And beside him stood a little girl, staring up at him, in a tattered red dress, pale and barefoot, with a curtain of long, black hair. The monster of a man had noticed me, but the little girl was staring intently at the beast, shaking somewhat.

She was just a child.

"Oh fuck..." Hidan managed in a shaky voice. The little girl turned to us then, and slowly walked to us. She had bruises around her neck.

I held my hand out, not once taking my eyes off the man before me. "Come here, kid." She reached out and took my hand, and spoke.

"The big man is scary." She said before the man charged with a roar.

I ran with two hands in mine, but with one swing of that man's hammer, Hidan's grip was torn from mine. I wasn't even through the door to the first floor hall yet, and I stopped to look back. I wish I hadn't, because with one slam of that hammer, and flesh, bone and viscera went everywhere. Not even Hidan could come back from something like this. His body was being completely obliterated, and then...simply swept down a hole with one push of the giant's foot.

I had to hide. The bathroom upstairs and office were out. The classrooms were too easy to search. I quickly skidded into the men's room and locked myself into a stall, curled up behind the in-floor toilet, pulling the child to me. Hidan's screams echoed in my mind. I covered my mouth as I tried to get my breath back without hyperventilating or sobbing. This place had taken a lot out of me.

"Mister?"

I looked to the girl. She was staring at the stall door as though trying to work out what just happened. "Be quiet, kid."

"This is the boys' bathroom."

"I know. Shut up."

"...Shut...up...?"

I glanced to her again and had to do a double take. She was shaking again, curled into foetal position.

Her skin was grey. Fuck, I think I may have made the worst mistake of my life. For a moment I even thought if I'd left her, I'd still have Hidan with me, but that was just wishful thinking. The girl had nothing to do with that man's aim taking out my partner.

"Just if you're too loud, the bad man might hear us." I whispered, voice shaking. This child may well have already been dead. "What...what's your name?"

"...Shinozaki...Sachiko..."

"That's...a nice name. Don't worry, Sachiko, I'll protect you."

"Like you protected your friends?"

I froze. "Pardon?"

"Because they're not very well now, are they, mister?"

"Well...I..."

My hair pulled taut. "Your hair is very nice for a man, mister. It's fluffy and warm. I like it. Can I have it?"

"Can you...?" It pulled harder, cutting my words off with a gasp. She tore away, bringing a thick clump of dark hair with her and leaving me with a sharp, burning pain where that hair had been. I felt blood pour down the back of my head and neck and realised it wasn't just hair she had taken. This little girl had just scalped me with nothing more than her hands. I scrambled for the door, but she pulled me back by my hair once more.

"Naughty, naughty. It's rude to run from someone, mister. It's making me really sad. Don't you like me?"

How the hell could a kid hold on so tight? Pull so hard? "Let go...please..."

"You sound thirsty, mister. Would you like a drink?"

A drink? My eyes flickered around the small space and all I could see was the liquid in the toilet. It was dark, like blood, and I didn't want to get a closer look. However, I think Sachiko could see exactly what I despised, because next I knew I was being thrust headfirst into the toilet. My vision went black and my face was submerged in the dark liquid. Thankfully it didn't taste of anything, but all too soon everything felt like it was burning. Mouth, nose, eyes, injuries, it all burnt, as did my lungs and every other part of my chest and torso. I scrambled frantically and desperately tried to pull my head out, but the child's hands didn't move. I couldn't escape and there was something sharp jabbing into my back repeatedly. Sharp and stabbing and oh god why?!

And then I dragged myself out, coughing and spluttering, gasping for breath. Everything hurt. I was bleeding still, and quite heavily at that, but I managed to unlock the door and stagger out. I'd forgotten Hidan, but when I went to the front entrance, neither he nor the giant man remained. Not even blood on the walls or floor. I managed to drag myself up to the second floor, and saw someone I knew.

"Yuuka!" She spun as I staggered to her. She was crouched over the form of another man who seemed to have passed out, but the heaving chest made it clear he was still very much alive. She seemed unharmed, and stood to meet me.

"Kakuzu-senpai! You look like a wreck. What happened?"

"It's a long story." I looked at the unconscious boy. He was unfamiliar, dressed in black, smudged kabuki-style make up on his face. Yuuka walked round to look at the injuries on my back. "Who's this?"

"Kankurou. He's looking for his sister. He got a bit of a shock in the bathrooms. He's badly injured, like you, so I've been looking after him, like a big sister."

"He looks a bit like Teruyoshi." Teruyoshi was Yuuka's older brother. All brown curls, pretty-boy face and athlete's muscles. I didn't like him. I turned to her to say something else, and she stepped closer. I barely registered the knife plunging into my stomach, not until I coughed and blood came up. "What...?"

"Teruyoshi is nobody. Kankurou-chan is my cute little brother. Don't you think he's cute?" She grabbed my chin and forced me to look at the boy.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I spat.

"Come now, Kakuzu-senpai. You were going to die anyway. We're all going to die here. Whether you're killed by me or the spirits, its all the same. You die either way, and with no spare hearts, it was just a matter of time, wasn't it?" She laughed, patting my head.

"And you're going to kill everyone you come across?"

"But of course not. I have to protect my precious baby brother, after all. But the fact of the matter is, a human being is only honest in their last moments, when they know life is drawing to a close. They then show exactly what I want to see, those last moments, that precious, desperate clinging to laugh. So go on, beg for your life like the others!"

Others? "You killed...?"

"Iwana, Meno, Kosuke...it's just a shame Fu got her head lopped off before I could get to her." She giggled. "And now you, one of the dark greats. One of the Akatsuki. Your life, ended by my hand. So...let's start the show."

Drawing up the last reserves of strength, I slugged her across the jaw. "I will NOT perform for you!" I snapped. Her response was to glare and click her tongue.

"Disappointing." She twisted the knife, and I grimaced and bit my tongue. "Truly disappointing. Oh well, I guess every experiment has its failures." The knife withdrew, and her fist slammed into my stomach, hard enough to send me flying back. I expected to hit the floor, but I had failed to notice a hole in the floor, and I fell through it, to the first floor below. As I fell, I had the time to decide that, if I survived, I would not let Yuuka claim another victim.

And then I slammed into the ground, and my body broke, and all thought left my head but for that Yuuka must not kill another comrade.


	21. Extra Chapter 2: Deidara

**Requested by TheSoaringPiglets. Deidara's chapter when in large clumps of italics is set before Heavenly Host, when he first gathers the research. And yes, tense switches are intended. Remaining extra chapters are Tobi, Korobi, Shinga, Sasame, Meno, Yuuka, Shizuka, Shion, Konan, Rock Lee and Kisame if anyone is interested. That's what I have planned. And that is all I have to say. Enjoy.**

This was not the simple plane of spirits I previously surmised it to be. Not by a long shot. Oh how dreadfully wrong I was...I may well have gotten the one I cared most for killed.

I prepared well for my journey into Heavenly Host with Tobi and Shinga, though I despised the thought of having the latter there. I didn't know him at all, and he, writing about the spiritual plane alongside Tobi, lest we need the information in future missions (and in some cases, for profit), had been trying to convince Tobi to enter the school of death without my companionship. Not that he would need much convincing. Tobi wanted his precious senpai safe, I knew that much. I'm not sure if this concern was out of nothing more than affectionate protectiveness or, and I hoped not this one as that would have been beyond insulting, due to my young age, which could be translated by some into lack of experience and general incompetence. If it were not for me, however, Tobi would not have any information on this hallowed ground.

The day we went into Heavenly Host, I had argued with my companion once more. Less than an hour later, I was requested for a short mission. Recon. Simple as...well, in a world discovering more and more each day, I don't think there is anything simple any more. The point is, Tobi had plenty of time with just his bastard associate. I, however, had time to prepare, after what was essentially an exam at what was essentially a school.

Full in knowledge I had recently obtained that, pushing one's chakra down until one could no longer reach it, let alone draw it out, ninjutsu and genjutsu became useless in a place such as this, I prepared as such. I was sure to bring supplies, such as food and water, and torches with batteries, candles and matches in an emergency, and of course plenty of weapons close to hand should we need to defend ourselves. I returned to my... _our_ shared room, bag on my back, only to find the room swathed in darkness so thick you'd need a knife to cut through it. Tobi had promised to await me here. I tried the light switch, but it seemed the bulb had blown out. Flicking on one of my torches, I scanned the room.

"Tobi? Oi, dumbass, this isn't funny. Tobi. Are you in here?" I noticed something a bit off about my desk. Things had been moved. My notebook was open, a hasty message scrawled by someone else's hand.

 _Deidara_

 _We have thought about this for a long time and after careful deliberation, have decided we need to leave you behind. It is not safe for someone as young and sensitive as yourself, but if we get the information we need, you're going to be part of the scoop of the century. Promise to bring you something back, and don't worry, we remember the escape route - just perform the ritual correctly in reverse - so wait for us. We'll be gone a day or two at most._

 _Shinga and Tobi._

Tobi had dotted the I in his name with a heart. Looking at this, I was pretty sure it was written by Shinga - Tobi would never know a long word like 'deliberation' - and it slowly sunk in that they had gone to Heavenly Host, without protection, and without me. That grey-haired bastard of an assistant had undoubtedly put Tobi up to this. It took me a moment to realise my hands were shaking, but when I did, I found they were shaking so violently that the torch light could barely keep up, flickering all over. I could feel tears track down my cheeks. Perhaps I already knew exactly how dangerous this place truly was.

Of course I did. I was the one who had researched the Shinozaki estate. Since then, Shinozaki Sachiko has been haunting my every breath. My entire body has been messed up beyond belief by that little spirit. The pounding in my head had never once ceased. Every other breath had been agony at times, and yet Tobi was willing to walk right into this. It wasn't safe. It wasn't safe at all.

He was going to get killed.

With a scream, I grabbed my notebook, fled from the room and tore down the halls of the Akatsuki base like a bat out of hell. I wasn't sure who I was going to until I stopped before his room. I needed someone strong, calm and someone who with any luck wouldn't slam the door in my face. I just had to hope the correct one was in, although if his partner answered my call instead, I wasn't above using him to get into Heavenly Host. I could always leave with Tobi and forsake whosoever accompanied me on this rescue/suicide mission.

The door slid open after a full five seconds of hammering my palm desperately against the wood. Kisame did not look impressed, but gave no reprimand or complaint. Possibly due to my disheveled appearance. I almost certainly looked like pure crap. He arched an eyebrow, crossed his arms and awaited my explanation calmly.

"It's Tobi! He's crossed over, un!"

"...Crossed...?"

"Without me! He'll never survive there, he doesn't know all the facts yet, un...I don't even know all the facts! You need to help me get him back before something horrible happens!"

I felt hands on my shoulders. "Calm down, Deidara. Though he acts like an imbecile, he's more capable than you give him credit for."

"This is serious. It's not just his ability I doubt. I don't even doubt that, un, it's that this place is beyond anything he'll have ever faced." I think at some point I grabbed his cloak, still crying like a little kid whose puppy had just exploded. "You have to help me get him back, I'm begging you!"

I doubt I'd have been this desperate were it not for the meddling of Shinozaki Sachiko. Knowing what she had done to me just because I'd researched her was bad enough. What would she do to someone who entered her domain? I eventually managed to convince Kisame to accompany me, and sent him off to collect the print-out of the proxy doll and cut it out, giving me ample time to update my blog. If Tobi and I were to risk our arses out there, we might as well have a large sample size.

 _Fortunate Shinozaki Sachiko_

I explained to Kisame as we both took hold of either end of the doll that there was a way to escape the place we were to go to, but that he would need me and Tobi in order to accomplish it. He nodded in understanding, and I detailed the process we were about to undergo.

"The trigger phrase is 'Sachiko-sama, onegaishimasu' or 'we beg of you'. We say this twice, un, once for everyone present, then we pull on the proxy doll so it rips in half and you have one half, I have the other. Kisame, this is really important, un. Keep hold of your doll scrap, it's the only thing keeping you remotely safe, un."

He gave me an offended and distrustful look, and I nodded, to signify our start. We performed the charm in the way I described - the incorrect way - and I took a step back.

 _Sachiko will descend on any available spiritual medium in the vicinity._

I don't really consider myself a spiritual medium, but after Sachiko has been messing with me so, it made sense she would latch onto me and spirit us away to Heavenly Host. When the ground shook, I calmly braced one hand against the floor while Kisame hurriedly braced himself against the wall, not understanding what was going on. I think he may have even asked, after seeing me so calm, and then the floor fell out from beneath us and the darkness sucked us in.

When I awoke, I slowly lifted myself to my knees with a groan. My head was still pounding, a strange burning sensation starting behind my left eye. I removed my eye scope to try and relieve some of the pressure and placed it in my bag. It was then that I noticed something wrong.

"Kisame?" I called, a shiver running down my spine. No response. The dark atmosphere was making my head worse, and tears sprung up, blurring my vision, it hurt so bad. I paused, trying to get my bearings, and thought that maybe writing in my journal might help a little, so that was what I did.

' _I had a final exam today, so I went to school for the first time in quite a while. Seems while I was gone, Tobi came here to Heavenly Host without me. "It's too dangerous! We don't have enough data!" he said, trying to justify why he'd skulk into this sacred ground behind my back. His assistant, Shinga, most likely put him up to it. I did give him all the details on how to return home from here, and it's a fairly simple process...but I can't help worrying about him nonetheless._

 _At any rate, the blog's been updated. And I do feel bad about dragging my friend Kisame into this...but it's time to dive headfirst into these trenches, and really feel out what this place is all about...'_

I waited a little bit longer, feeling my way, and after a few more minutes spent sitting, with a few sips of water, I was able to stand, albeit shakily. The halls were wood paneling, rotting and breaking, several holes over every square inch. And god, it was so _cold_! Why was it so cold? My very essence was pulsing, the pain in my head waxing and waning like ripples in water after a stone is lobbed in. Already, I felt unstable. I couldn't stay here long.

 _When Tobi had first mentioned the Shinozaki estate, I knew nothing about it. Something about a plane of spirits we could all use to our advantage, only he couldn't find any information. That was when he called in paranormal specialist, Shinga. Determined to make Tobi proud, though I would never admit it, I began to research as deeply as I could. I found many leads, but none nearly as good as that of a teenage girl on the internet, posting about rumours of a disappearing house on the former site of the Shinozaki house, torn down after terrible crimes took the lives of the residents forever. This led me to the news articles on the Heavenly Host deaths, and in turn to the home address of Sachiko and her deceased mother. There were very few articles about Yoshie's death. Information almost ran dry._

 _Strangely enough, the Shinozaki estate was not too far away. In this prefecture, actually, on the outskirts. Just at the base of the mountains. I told Tobi I had a lead, and went to investigate. Further research also told me the now demolished school of Heavenly Host had been nearby as well. Possibly even built on the same foundations as one of our bases. Supposedly a curse of sorts had formed this plane of spirits. That is what Shinga said, at least. And so, this estate seemed like a good place to start._

 _If I traveled with haste, it would take me less than an hour to get to the estate that may well have held everything we needed. After all, I had gathered plenty of research into the unusual things Tobi required of me before, so what was this other than another spy and recon mission? It was a cool, crisp afternoon, and the sun would be setting by the time I got to my destination, but I cared little for that provided I could find information to assist my comrade._

 _If anything, Tobi, despite his annoying ways, was like a little kid who needed guiding and protecting, and when he saw he (or anyone else) had gone too far with an ally, he was there to at least attempt to comfort the victim. He wanted to help and be the best ally he could be, and though he annoyed me beyond belief, I could appreciate that. He even complimented my art on many occasions, so I could at least say he had some good taste._

 _The area I found myself in was a desolate farming community with a gradual upward slope, and very few people around. There were fields and farmhouses as far as the eye could see, and those who were around took a vague interest in my cloak, though I highly doubted they would have heard of the Akatsuki. Now came the tricky part. I had to assume that uphill was the right direction as it was supposedly a mountain side building, but the address I'd found had no house number, and any attempt at organising a map had failed. Not once had someone bothered to so much as put this entire prefecture on any map, so it was a given that the small farm area at the very edge would not have a map of its own. The road was uneven, and wandering this strange place at the cusp of twilight made me strangely uneasy. I wanted to ask people for directions, but the entire thing was a dark mystery that had been nigh impossible to find myself. I doubted normal farmers would have any clue as to the whereabouts of the old Shinozaki estate the teenage girl had said was impossible to find. When people did recognise the address, they would snap that I had no business with the Shinozaki estate and threaten to make me leave. Yes, I did ask, against my greater judgement, but in all honesty, someone else came up to me and asked whether I was lost, being such a 'cute, young visitor'. It looked like the building was a taboo. Those who heard I was searching for the Shinozaki estate watched after me with a deathly glare and I tried my best to walk on without the slightest hint of unease._

The more I walked, the harder it became to breathe. The halls were closing in around me and every step filled my chest with dread that threatened to burst my ribcage. I can't say how long I'd been wandering now. Mere seconds, minutes...hours? All the time, I called out names. "Kisame! Tobi! Shinga! Where are those idiots?" But no matter how much I called or where I traveled, I could not find even the slightest hint of them. No door could prevent my passage, no hole hold me back. I was determined to search every square mile of this school and find my beloved Tobi no matter what.

Every so often, I heard a giggle. A child, or children, laughing and playing. The odd whisper in my ear not to trust anyone. I knew that to show kindness or weakness to the spirits here could mean my untimely demise, so my top priority was finding Tobi. I gripped my paper doll scrap so tight between thumb and forefinger that the skin was all white and red, and every so often I left a charm - a grave tag or amethyst or scented beads - in a room to come back to for the sake of safety. This way, should Tobi or Kisame come across them, they too would be protected from the evils of this place. I had accounted for every possibility...apart from our forced separation, obviously. In my plans, we had come together, stayed together until we'd completed everything, and not once found ourselves unprotected in the face of danger. Every so often I would stop to either make a note in my book or take out my phone and search for a signal. Once or twice I snapped a photo of the bodies to look at later. They calmed me, knowing none of them were my beloved Tobi and that their suffering would bolster both our resolves. He was out there...somewhere.

My notes in my book were becoming more frantic and jumbled. I could see that, and I assumed it was just because I was afraid. I wrote about my unbidden confessions, the stuff I was afraid to tell anyone. About abuse suffered in childhood, regrets I had throughout my life, my sneaking suspicion I might not only be gay, but have feelings for my ever idiotic partner...though I tended to state he was more like a brother than anything else. But Tobi, my precious Tobi...when he hears what I've done, my blog post under the guise of paranormal fan Kawamoto, my spread of this curse for his sake, oh how he will praise me. He will pat me on the head and tell me I have done well. He will hug me and tell me all will be well and that we can now move on in Leader's ultimate goal. He will tell me how much he loves and cares for me, and nobody else can ever ruin that moment. Not Shinga, not Sachiko, not a single soul. It would just be the two of us forevermore.

But if I returned home and people saw these entries, all would be ruined. All would be over. Panicking, I began to tear entries from my pad, scattering them among the halls as I continued my desperate search for my love.

"Tobi!" I continued to call as I tore free another page. "Oi, dumbass, where are you, un? Answer me! Kisame, are you in here?"

 _As I continued through the streets, the fields and houses began to fade out, replaced by thickening forest with leaves so thick they blotted out the moon and street lights. The incline had gotten far steeper to the point it felt like I was climbing the mountain rather than walking along a road. What light did finally appear I identified as light from a vehicle, and quickly squeezed to the side. A man in a motor vehicle pulled over at the sight of me and offered a smile. Many teeth missing. His age seemed to be at the point where a body gave up and began decomposing._

 _"What's a nice young man like you doing out here at such a late time, eh?"_

 _He spoke strangely, almost as though he had had a little too much to drink. His breath held the unholy stench of cigarettes. The cab of the truck stank of booze, smoke and urine._

 _"I'm looking for the Shinozaki estate, un."_

 _"Ah, Shin'zaki. Yeah, that's just up ahead." He snorted and wiped his nose on his sleeve, leaving a clear and very disgusting snail trail. "Right in the mountains."_

 _"So I've been walking the right way after all, un."_

 _"Yeah, but it sures is a long ways, if you's walking, you's take forever to get there. Dunno what business you gots there, but I can take yeh along a bit of the way if yeh like."_

 _He seemed shady, but beggars can't be choosers, and I had been sure to bring a little clay with me, so if he dared to try something funny, they'd have a hard time finding every part of his body once I was done. So I thanked him and climbed aboard._

 _The footwell was crammed with all sorts of crap. Beer bottles, receipts, the remains of his lunch...plenty of things. It was gross and there was little room for my legs, so I sat there, scrunched up with my knees against my chest, and strapped myself in._

 _"Heh. Truck's s'posed t' be a three-seater, but it's kinda crowded. Sorry 'bout that."_

 _I shrugged, though I was very uncomfortable. "That's quite alright, un. I'm grateful. If I had kept walking, it would be nightfall before I knew it, after all."_

 _"Well, I sure ain't got a lot o' business up at the ol' Shin'zaki estate on th' mountain these days. Why are you lookin' t' go up there, anyhow?"_

 _"Research." I answered simply, not much for small talk with creepy old men. He laughed a wheezy, stinking laugh._

 _"Research?"_

 _"About the school nurse that used to live there, un. Shinozaki Yoshie."_

 _"Ah, yeah, I knew 'er. Used to be a bit of an 'ome run clinic up there back in th' day. Dunno what kinda state it'll be in nows though."_

 _The higher up the mountain we got, the rougher the road became. Road maintenance was not a priority up here, and once or twice the violent rocking of the cabin even sent my knee crashing into my jaw. After that I made a conscious effort to keep my tongue away from my teeth. My body being thrown this way and that, I was suddenly very glad I'd taken the time to buckle myself in. I glanced to the driver._

 _"This is quite the road, hey, un?" I muttered nervously. He paid little attention, just pushed the accelerator harder, twisting the wheel hard. His driving was starting to worry me in all honesty. It almost felt like I was in a runaway vehicle._

 _"Mister, aren't you going a bit fast?" I tried before glancing at the road. I saw something pale standing in the path, and it looked human-shaped, but I didn't get much of a look before the man turned the wheel violently and the truck veered sharply off the road. I braced one hand against the window and the other against the roof of the cabin, screaming all the way._

 _"Iss okay." The man slurred. "Whatever it was, I didn't hit it."_

 _I sat there, panting, having just seen my short life flash before my eyes. "W-what?!"_

 _"Believe me. Y' hit a person 'r an animal on the road, it makes a bigger noise 'n that."_

 _I tried to pretend that didn't send a shiver down my spine. This man had seemed so helpful at first, but now was going just as strange as the others back in the farming village._

 _"Who was that, un?"_

 _"Dunno."_

 _I reached for the door handle. "You think I could walk the rest of the way? That last swerve may have damaged your vehicle, un."_

 _"It'll just be a couple 'a metres on, kid. You can easily hoof it."_

 _With a nod, I hopped out of the car with great pleasure, glad to be out of that cramped, disgusting place._

 _"I'll be waitin' here for y'. You just come back when you're done. I can't rightly leave no young men out 'ere by 'emselves, after all."_

 _I nodded. "Thank you for your consideration, un." And with that, I marched on to the Shinozaki estate. I could see the steep, uncompromising road plateau up ahead, and this must have been what I was searching for._

 _Only, when I got there, the building was no longer there. The Shinozaki estate was now just an empty lot. Was this what that girl on the message board had meant? The disappearing house of Shinozaki Yoshie had been torn down after her death? It seemed as though I'd come all this way for a dud lead, however, as I was about to turn back, I did notice a barn. Why this was spared when the rest of the estate was not was beyond me. Easing in, I expected it to be old and dilapidated, but when I located the light switch, I found it was still fully functional and connected up, as though still in full use. It was piled high with various refuse. In one corner sat an old oil drum that was likely once used to burn things. Inside was nothing but soot and ash. No clues. Beside it sat a hemp sack filled to the brim with seed. Some kind of animal feed, possibly for one of the many farms far below. Piles of old, dirty blankets were here and there, some that were just dusty and some that looked like they belonged to a homeless person who had sought shelter within these walls. I caught myself shivering and realised, with the sun down, it was icy cold outside. Other than this sat many old cardboard boxes filled with many odds and ends and tools. One of the books was labeled with the Shinozaki name, so this certainly seemed to have once been the lot upon which the estate once sat. I spent a good half-hour rifling through the crap there, but nothing shed any light on Yoshie or Sachiko or the Shinozaki curse...or indeed any of the children murdered at Heavenly Host or any other death there. It seemed like a waste to leave empty handed, but I had done all I could for now. Perhaps if I returned to the area earlier, I could talk at length with the locals, perhaps even bring others with me to help intimidate some information out of them. That sounded like a good idea to me._

 _Suddenly, it seemed much, much darker out here. I could barely see the trees before me and the cold cut through me like a scythe, and my cloak did little to help. This was one of the occasions I regretted wearing skimpy clothing underneath, but that did not mean I would ever change. With no light to guide my path, I had little clue as to where I was going or even if I was still on the path. Thankfully, I was soon able to pick out the light of the strange old man's truck in the distance._

It had definitely been hours how. Tobi was still nowhere in sight. I'd called for him desperately, and now I was sat in a classroom, taking a break. I sat at one of the desks to rest my aching legs and had a drink of water and a morsel of bread. As I sat, my eyes fell on a strange image. I was staring at the blackboard, and on it sat a crayon drawing of a little girl eating. What she was eating was not in the image, so I could not say. Perhaps she would like some of my bread. I watched the image for a while longer, as though it would calm me, but soon it lost its novelty. Instead, I pulled out my phone again and flicked through the images of the dead. And...I am still sane. I am. I am still sane. I have not lost it yet. Tobi is out there, waiting for me to find him. He needs me.

 _He'd be better off without you._

What? I stood, searching the room for anything that might have spoken. Soon, my eyes fell on the body of a young girl. She had begun to rot and stink, and various fluids had begun to leak from her body. Her eyes, throat and wrists had been slashed. I stormed up to her and grabbed her by her uniform collar.

"What are you looking at, un? Hmm? You think it's funny to mess with me? I'll blow you into next Tuesday!" Laughter filled my ears and I leveled a punch at the body's jaw. It made a satisfying squelch. "You think this is funny, bitch?!" Her head lolled to the side. The laughter continued. I threw her to the ground, grabbed a kunai from my bag and stabbed it into her repeatedly. She was dead, so little blood escaped, and after a few minutes I stopped for breath and realised she could not have been the one whispering things to me.

 _How can you help Tobi when you make such basic and stupid mistakes yourself?_

Her throat was slit and her vocals in pieces, and of course she breathed no more. There was no spiritual presence here. Another hissing laugh filled the air.

 _You're a pathetic fool, and you are all going to die here._

I turned and my eyes fell on the blackboard across one wall. It was grinning at me maliciously, and laughing still. With a scream of rage, I ran at it and plunged my kunai deep into the slate underbelly, and heard its screeching roar of pain. I felt its blood run down my arms and over my face and body. Down my throat. I twisted the kunai, determined to cause the slate demon as much pain as possible before finally it died. When I left the classroom, I was dry and clean, and the board seemed...inorganic. It looked like a normal chalkboard, just with cracks running along it from the point at which I had forced the weapon in. I knew better, of course. I knew it was dead. I had killed it! For our sake, Tobi! I killed it for us! Are you proud of me? Will you reveal yourself to me now? Stop hiding! I mean it, come out and face me!

 _Though my search had been unsuccessful, it felt strangely good to get out and do something, even if all it gave me was a headache and a chewed up tongue._

 _"Sorry to keep you waiting, un...huh?"_

 _The old man was gone. Perhaps I had been gone too long and, though it was cold, he had had to answer nature's call. The engine was running and the lights were on, so he couldn't have gone far. "Ojii-san, un!" I called experimentally, but there was no response. It was freezing, so I tried to open the door of the cab as I called, only to find it locked. Wrapping my arms around myself tightly, and trying not to shiver, I leant against the cab door. It was a quarter past 8 now at least._

 _I waited and waited, losing faith that the old man would return for me the entire time. I scanned the area as best I could with my eye piece, but there was no sign of him anywhere. Eventually, I decided he was not coming back and began to walk away. The truck drive up was long and unpleasant, but it would be faster down than up, so going by foot would not be too hard, hopefully, and in an emergency I could rely on my clay creations. I grabbed my notepad from an inside pocket and scrawled a quick note thanking the man and stating I'd gone to head home._

 _The road was hard to see and wound this way and that. There were no guard rails this high up, so I had to be extra careful or else I could easily go sliding over the edge. I quickly lost all sense of direction and become somewhat paranoid that I was wandering in circles. Just 15 minutes in, I was exhausted, panting heavily. I would have thought the downhill journey would be a lot easier. I considered just heading back to the truck, but I'd already come this far. Walking on a little further, I found another light up ahead and sped up a little, eager to see what it was._

 _It was another motor vehicle. With any luck, someone else had come up here and would offer me a ride down, however, as I approached, the truck became strikingly familiar. A cramped three-seater with all the lights on and a faint smell of smoke. The old man's truck. This didn't seem possible as I had been heading downhill the whole time, but my note was on the windshield. By this point I was feeling just plain shitty. My nose was running, my head hurt, I was frozen all over, and needed a piss, a drink and something in my stomach. I could hear bugs zipping round me and a bad feeling swam around me. I was almost afraid. Perhaps I had taken a wrong turning. Maybe there was a fork in the road somewhere. The road had weaved this way and that like crazy, I just had to be more careful and ensure I didn't take any side roads by mistake. So, once more, I left the safety of the truck and went down the dangerous road to the farm village below. It felt like I had been walking for at least an hour now. I wondered how long I had been up in this godforsaken mountain for a moment, but I was afraid to check the time. I was sure that after this I would not walk for a good, long time. It felt like I'd been walking far longer than before, which was good, until I saw a light up ahead._

 _"No..."_

 _It was the old man's gross, run-down truck. I felt like I was going crazy. I paused to wipe my nose and grabbed my phone, only for it to say it was out of range. I couldn't call for help. How could the old man not be back yet? Where had he gone? And he had just...left the engine running! The idle rumbling was the only sound in the forest, and of course, the engine was not the only thing rumbling now. At this rate, I would never get back, so I considered returning to the barn. It had a light, and it had blankets to keep me warm, so it seemed as good a plan as any. I shuddered at the thought of staying the night on this cold, unforgiving mountain, but I had little choice. Just in case, I changed the message on my note so the man would know I had gone to camp out in the barn for warmth. I got a bad feeling from this road anyway...from the whole mountain, really. I could sense a presence of sorts, as though I was being watched. Heaving a sigh, I made my way back up to the Shinozaki barn, trudging miserably back up the dirt road._

 _Had it been this far away from the road before? Another shiver ran down my spine as I feared I was now hopelessly lost. I turned around and tried to retrace my steps, but once again the journey seemed far longer. I almost wanted to cry. I should have seen the road again ages ago, but it still wasn't there. It was official. I was lost in the middle of a forest. All I could see around me was coniferous trees stretching on for miles. I tried using the compass on my phone, but it required GPS, which insisted this entire prefecture did not exist._

 _"Lllllllaaaaaaanddddddooofffffllllllliiiivviiiiiiiing"_

 _I whirled around as soon as I heard the voice, though part of me tried to explain it as wind whistling through the trees. I was shuddering and shivering, but I couldn't keep wandering aimlessly. When lost on a mountain, they say you should never head to low ground. The best course of action would be to stay still and wait for daybreak, but I could keep going a little longer. Perhaps I could get closer to the road and see the truck again._

 _Everything looked the same, no matter where I went. I could hear voices and I had started to cry, though I would blame that on the unholy pain in my legs as these hours of walking wore my feet clean to the bone. Two hours worth of slogging about and all I'd attained was a new level of walk-induced pain and a well-worn appetite. On the plus side, I was a tiny bit warmer for all the exercising. My legs gave out and I flopped onto the forest floor, eager for a good, long rest, but I raised my head and opened my eyes, and in the distance I noticed a light. I was saved! Though dead tired, near exhausted, the idea of such salvation, finally being able to get off this stupid mountain, had me taking off running._

 _Rather than the old man's truck, I found myself running to the barn I had been looking for. I had left the door open and the lights on, and god, I was so pleased to see something other than that damned truck. But wait...I distinctly remembered shutting off the lights when I left...so was someone else here, or did I remember wrong and save my own ass?_

 _I burst out of the undergrowth and onto the lot, never before so pleased to see such a ratty building, but then something beyond the barn caught my attention and froze my heart far more efficiently than the cold night weather had. An ancient-looking building had formed over the empty lot and was slowly but surely becoming more and more solid._

My progress had slowed considerably. My arms and legs ached as I wandered aimlessly through these halls. It was like everything I was carrying had suddenly gained a hundred thousand pounds or so. It was near agony trying to pull them along with me. How did my bag get so damn heavy?

I still haven't found my dear, dear Tobi. Or the others, whoever they are. They don't matter. All that matters is Tobi. I open my bag to reach for my water and my eye piece, though my eye still burns, head still pounds and my nose has started to pump out blood. When I look into my bag, however, none of my supplies are there. All have been replaced by rocks. ROCKS! Where were my torches? Where was my water? Where was my eye piece? Terrified, I reached into my pocket, but my paper doll scrap remained as it had been. Thank goodness.

The disappearance of my sources of light caused a fair bit of trouble when I got to a darkened hall through which I could see nothing. Not even my hand before my eyes. I stumbled through the darkness a little more.

Wait, did I just switch tense? I am so confused. I can't tell what is happening now and what is a memory. Everything is dark. I sob and scream and call for Tobi, but I am doing so constantly. The darkened hall stretched on for an eternity. I think I must have turned a circle because when I finally emerged back into the light, I am faced with the same hall I just left. My throat burns as I cry. Tobi isn't here. Where is he? Why isn't he waiting for me?! What has this place done?

I need someone beside me. I need someone. Anyone. Not just Tobi. I wouldn't care if Itachi and his piece of shit clan came to save me at this point. I just don't want to be by myself in here any more.

Suddenly I hear a slow yet loud clacking sound. Thinking fast, I throw myself to the floor, and just in time. Wires suddenly string out across the hall. Had I still been standing, they would have sliced through my collar bone. Had I been an inch or two shorter, through my neck. A very near miss. It took me a very long moment to get my breath back, and then I screamed in outrage, and then fear, and finally, despair. I could feel a thick, black entity around me.

Was this the darkening?

I stood, careful to avoid the wire that could have so easily bisected my body, and carried on, dragging my heavy bag of rocks across the floor behind me, desperately wishing for them to return to the items I brought with me, but eventually I gave up. I reached a hole and tipped the entire bag, contents and all, into the hole. Below, I heard clangs of metal, the slosh of water and even a scream. Sounds that indicated I had thrown away the items that had lived within that bag. I knew better than to panic over this place's tricks though. Now I faced only one problem between myself and finding Tobi. The darkening. If it took over me, I would likely kill everyone I came across, whether they were friend or foe. I had to seal myself away for safety of all I cared about and hope Kisame could find Tobi and they could escape together. I would have written one more note in my pad to let them know not to look for me, but my notepad had been in my bag.

 _The building floated a few centimetres or so off the ground, likely where the ground had worn away over the years since it was torn down or something. It horrified me that it could suddenly appear, but now I realised that this was what the girl online had meant about 'disappearing' houses, and I was shaking, but not because of the cold now. Just gazing on that ethereal building made me dizzy and nauseous. I retched over the grass and took deep breaths, trying to keep my cool. There was definitely a strong spiritual influence here. A cold sweat was running down my back. I approached the faintly glowing building with shaking knees, and the nameplate on the door read 'Shinozaki'. This was it. The estate. I backed up a little so I could get the entire building in frame before lifting a camera I had brought with me and snapping a photo. Doing so sent a white flash of blinding light and pain through my head and I had to crouch down to recover. It hurt...so bad...but this was what I had come for. After a moment, I realised I was hyperventilating, and I had to make a conscious effort to calm myself down. I regained my composure and approached the door. The building...Yoshie and Sachiko were practically inviting me in, after all. It would be foolish not to oblige. I reached out to slide the door open..._

 _It gave no resistance at all. I stepped in, and my headache and dizziness worsened. My ear started ringing and I could feel my nose running again. The tears were back in my eyes. I reached up to wipe my nose again and my sleeve came away bloody. My nose was bleeding heavily. I flicked the lights, but the phantom estate had no power. The hall was small and unimpressive, with cracked walls, rotting wood furnishings, carpet torn from the stairs with few scraps remaining and several empty photo frames. A door stood beside the staircase, with a dusty mirror between the two, and a window offered little light. I took another photo, though my entire body protested the resulting flash. It took everything I had not to throw up again, especially since I'd barely eaten today and fainting in a phantom house was the last thing I needed. The hall broke off to the right by the door at the back of the hall, but there was little else to examine. I must have gone so pale now, and was shaking violently, but I was determined as much as I was afraid._

 _The energy within the house was get black. Like the darkest of demons resided here, ready to rake their horrible darkness across my very soul. It didn't seem like the home or resting place of a little girl and her mother. I could not let my guard down for even a second. This house was a ghost, and anything could happen. All I could do was try and brace myself for the trials ahead and try and document as much as possible. A deep wave of emotional turmoil seemed almost build into the walls._

 _The few photo frames that contained photos contained ones of a little girl with long black hair, a smile on her face, dressed in a formal kimono. A plaque below labeled it as 'Sachiko just before her 7th birthday. Many wishes for a long, happy life'. It seemed to be part of a festival of some kind. I took a photo of that too, even though every photo seemed to rock my body to the edge of oblivion. There was a painting on one wall of a landscape showing a lake. The lake seemed to be formed of outstretched, bloody hands. It was beyond unsettling. I didn't want to look at the mirror, because every time I glanced at it, I was certain I saw someone else through the dust. I checked the shoe shelf, and found every shelf filled with dead rats. Every one, without exception, had its stomach dug out. I moved on quickly to the water closet next door. Inside sat just an in-floor toilet and sink. It was distressingly filthy and covered in cobwebs, and dried blood on the floor. I was sure to take a photo of every single room, and that included this one. I dared not relieve myself in this place. Looking up, there was a narrow window to the outside world and a thick spider web with what looked like Go pieces, protected by layers of webbing. Perhaps they were spider eggs._

 _Next room over held a bath and an old, splintered bath mat. Or was it a tub cover? It was wooden and rotted through with warped beams. The water in the bath was stagnant, green and had bodies of bugs inside. Not worth documenting by itself. Well, not until something invisible knocked me away harshly. I ended up sprawled against the floor, seeing a dark shape loom above me. Terrified, I snapped a photo, hoping the light would scare the apparition away. It disappeared and a piece of paper remained. It had this address on it and stated that once it had been a mental hospital. Back in the days when mental patients weren't treated as kindly as today, most likely. A psychiatric clinic...was that the kind of clinic Yoshie had run?_

 _I didn't want to spend any longer in that room. My leg felt like a dead weight and I could barely hear even my own heavy breathing over the ringing in my ear. Down the hall a little sat a living room. The shoji door was covered in holes that, if you squinted, looked like a grimacing face. Once seen, it could not be unseen and the unnerving feeling left by it clung to my shoulders. There was a box on the floor with a few cloths haphazardly thrown in. There were a few newspapers as well, but they were crawling with bugs. Torn cushions littered the floor and the table in the centre of the room was missing some legs, causing it to have fallen partially. The china cabinet was smashed open and a notice beside it asked for patients to wait patiently and help themselves to tea. I backed into the corner to snap a photo when a steam formed in the shape of a man._

 _"Yukimura-san?" A voice called through the door._

 _"Yes." The steam answered._

 _"What seems to be the problem?"_

 _The steam just groaned in agony, and I snapped the photo then before fleeing the room._

 _Finally I entered a kitchen. The windows were all cracked and a gas-powered water heater hung loosely from the wall. My head pulsed and my vision dimmed, and I almost passed out there and then, but biting hard down on my tongue made things a little clearer. Every part of the heater was rusted beyond possible use. It must have been ancient. It was linked to the sink, and beside it sat a broken shelf of crockery. On the other side sat an old refrigerator. Post icebox, but nowhere near modern, and completely empty. Not that I could have safely eaten anything it contained either way, no matter how hungry I might have been. Handles to the cupboard were missing, but I could hear bugs skitter around within. The crockery was covered in cutesy bunny and cat designs. They were clearly dishes for the child._

 _With nothing more to explore downstairs, I returned to the entranceway and dared to scale the stairs, even though my right leg still wasn't moving right. The stairs wobbled and shook beneath me, clearly unsafe. My foot even went through one of the steps, getting pretty scratched up as it went. I hung on to the wall to assist myself up. This house should not have even existed, but here it was. I could touch everything. I could explore it all and photograph it all._

 _On the second floor hallway sat four doors. One failed to open, as though blocked by something on the other side, just as the end of the hall door downstairs had, so I went to explore another room. It was a bedroom. The sliding door to the closet was off its tracks, and the dresser had been knocked over. The floor was littered with junk, including a desk lamp, clothes and bottles of unidentifiable contents. The room was strangely noisy, with audible cracks, bangs and pops throughout._

 _"Dad!" I screamed before I could stop myself. "Mum!" It was as though someone else had taken over. "Mummy!" It was the voice of a small child, calling through my grown male lungs and sobbing through my eyes and throat. Next, I started to hack and choke, as though something were stuck in my throat. I brought my hands up to catch the cough, and something wet splattered over them. I reached into my mouth to grab whatever was stuck in my throat and came back with a clump of thick, black hair in my throat and blood over my palms. I threw up again and coughed up a little more blood. A whine escaped my throat and I felt I may not have lasted much longer. Still, there were two more rooms to explore and I hadn't yet documented this one._

 _The dressed on the floor would not move, as though it were made of the heaviest steel. The fusuma sliding screen had a crude crayon drawing on it. It was cutesy, likely drawn by Sachiko, but not disturbing and dark. It was a perfectly normal child's drawing. I photographed it up close. There was a stain on the back wall of the closet. It seemed to be in the shape of a person. I photographed this up close as well._

 _The northeast bedroom would not open either. It was locked rather than jammed. The northwest had been converted into a study once by the looks of it, but I couldn't for the life of me think whose study it could have been. Yoshie had been a single mother according to my notes. All apart from a single desk chair was upright, so this room seemed relatively tidy. A bookshelf was stuffed with old volumes that were yellowed, musty and falling apart. On the floor lay the frame of what had once been a full-length mirror. Where the glass had been busted out, a rough but frighteningly realistic drawing of an old woman lay. Another thing to photograph up close. I tried to turn on the desk lamp, but obviously to no avail. The desk itself was covered in dust, but everything there was still very neat and organised. In the centre sat a lone key, encrusted in blood._

 _As I pocketed it, I heard footsteps echoing across the wooden frame of the building. I shuddered violently, and the feet, clad in leather shoes, began stomping up the stairs. I panicked and pressed myself up against the door so I could peer out through the gaps. There was definitely someone or something out there with me. It was walking around the halls. I was hyperventilating again and covered my mouth with my left hand to help muffle the sound. The constant, unrelenting pressure was getting to me._

 _The presence in the hall faded and I peered out. Thinking it safe, I slipped out and went to the locked room, trying the key. The door swung open to show Yoshie's bedroom. Every inch of the wall was covered in pictures either of or by Sachiko. She was clearly held very dear to her mother. A rotten desk in the corner held many more images of Sachiko. I went to lift them, only to find not only were they affixed to the desk like they were one and the same, but my right arm was paralysed. Beside the desk, another dresser had been tipped over onto a small box that contained a child's kimono. The same one worn by Sachiko in the photo downstairs. I photographed this. I took a closer look of the photos and found, with a jolt, that any picture with a man had the man's face scribbled out completely with ballpoint pen. The man was, presumably, Sachiko's father. In one corner sat a small, household shrine with a paper doll held within, and a sheet underneath._

 _'Spirit in the everafter. To confer a dying land upon an offering, one shall meditate upon his/her name. Pleas must be spoken in silence a number of times equal to all the transgressors plus the offering. An avatar for the offering must then be torn and split equally between the transgressors. If performed correctly, the offering's desired location shall become the land in which he/she dies.'_

 _It took me a moment to figure this out, but this was where the Sachiko Ever After charm came from. Yoshie had used it with her daughter as an offering to ensure she died alongside her beloved school by the looks of it, thus dooming both herself and her daughter. She begged Sachiko's offering, and so her daughter died within, and their curse kept the specific charm alive. Thus, anyone who then made their wish to Sachiko would be spirited away to Heavenly Host Elementary, or at the very least the spirit's version of such. Below this was what appeared to be an embedded wall safe. I made a few technical calculations to work out birthdates, but that didn't work. Turns out Yoshie is terrible with passwords, as the combination for the lock was merely '7'. Beyond the door so small I had to crawl through was a long, steep staircase. It was so dusty I could hardly breathe, and cobwebs covered every square inch. I would need to walk right through them. It looked like a storehouse of sorts._

 _It occurred to me that delving deeper into this place while half-paralyzed, bleeding heavily and teetering on the brink of unconsciousness was a seriously bad idea, but even so, I crawled onto the staircase and down I went. It was dark and daunting, but the more information I gathered, the better. My head pulsated once more, almost sending me into darkness and pitched out cold down the stairs, but I managed to brace myself. This was a passage that should not have existed, within a building that should not have existed. It was like the entrance to a realm from another world. Danger had reached its peak here._

I had to seal myself away for the safety of everyone I cared about. I had found a cupboard with no shelves, nothing therein. I jammed myself in, end first, breathing hard. These may well have been the last parts of my sanity and consciousness. I obviously had not thought through how I was going to trap myself there, but I always kept some clay beneath my cloak. I began to apply it to the seams of the door to try and keep it closed, though I highly doubted it would work. As I worked to either trap myself or cut off my air supply, something slipped from my pocket. Glancing down, I saw the top half of the proxy doll I'd shared with Kisame to enter into this hellhole that was slowly but surely eating at my sanity.

A gut-wrenching thought shot through me, even making me audibly gag. I'd told Kisame he would need me and Tobi to escape (not me or, so that could be a problem), and I had not told him he could escape with another person if he could not locate either of us. Furthermore, I had failed to relay to him the method of escape, which was, obviously, an extremely important piece of information. This was an unmitigated disaster. I could not leave Tobi and Kisame in the lurch like that.

In an instant, the need to seal myself away was completely forgotten. As was my doll scrap, but that's not important. I had lost myself to the darkening anyway. It was already too late for me to escape. I just had to find Kisame and ensure he could escape, otherwise all I had done was ensured the death of the man I love most and one of our comrades. I searched, and searched, and called high and low, but I could not locate him. Not for the longest time.

I passed the collar-bone-height wire several times, but it was not until the eighth or ninth time that I noticed it was dripping with still fresh blood. There was a large pool of blood beneath, and two large swathes of yet more blood leading away. Strange. Someone had clearly died here, and likely post-mortem been dragged away.

"Kisame no Danna?" I called uncertainly after I noticed something in amongst the blood. It was somewhat soaked, but it was the bottom half of a paper doll. It was an exact match to the top half I possessed. Kisame had been here. Had...had Kisame been killed by this simple trap?

I didn't think he could be that stupid. Only an idiot, a real idiot could be killed by something like this. I wouldn't be surprised if Tobi had been killed as such, but Kisame I had thought to be at least a bit smarter. I followed the drag marks. Perhaps he had dropped his half of the doll while pulling this body along, and needed help. "Kisame no Danna!" I called again, jogging along the drag lines until I reached a dead end. Kisame lay in the corner, body bisected at roughly the waist I'd say, but both halves had been placed together. He was dead. Undoubtedly so. Kisame was stone cold and would never breathe again. I almost made a sound of grief, but managed to suppress it. Instead, I looked to the man stood over him, now covering the deceased in his own cloak and bid he rest in peace.

"Tobi!"

Tobi whirled round to look at me, and we stared at one another for the longest time. I reached out to him, a relieved smile on my face. I had found him. He was safe, at last!

Tobi watched me, scrutinising me. I reached out to him, and he walked to me, then, so fast I almost didn't realise what was going on. He let out something I thought was a sob.

"Deidara-senpai...Deidara, I am so, so sorry. So very sorry." And then dodged round me, and took off down the corridor. Had he seen something scary? I followed him, but first I turned to Kisame. He needed a proper burial. And so I gave him one.

 _The wooden steps creaked and groaned beneath me. They seemed weaker than the main stairwell and I was afraid it might collapse at any moment. It seemed to go on forever until eventually, finally, I reached a damp, musty underground room. There was a lot of junk on the floor, so I had to be careful where I stood. It was a mess of books, broken wood and clutter. A desk was against the wall, cluttered chaotically with yet more books, loose leaf notes, documents, beakers and flasks. It looked like mad research with insane experiments. Another photo opportunity. Another desk held a large family tree. I went to this and began photographing the various sections._

 _"Genealogy Chart: Gifted Line" it read. It began with the names of several supernaturally gifted ancients. I had heard their name in legend before. From those names branched out several families. I followed the one under the name Shinozaki, of course. It seemed Sachiko and Yoshie were related to Shinozaki Seira, one of the legendary greats, which may well have explained their power, this apparition and the spells. I traced the line down the famous clairvoyents and found it to be primarily matrilineal. For as long as men married into the Shinozaki bloodline, they were never blessed with male heirs either. The men were almost always adopted into the line through marriage. Tracing it down far enough, I did indeed find Yoshie and Sachiko, alongside Yoshie's husband, who had also been adopted into the tree through marriage. He had kept the Shinozaki line running. Yoshie's mother was...Raki. She was traced entirely from the heir each time, making Yoshie a thoroughbred. The direct descendant of Shinozaki Seira, no men, nothing to disrupt. This direct descent likely meant they were very powerful, true inheritors. The ringing in my left ear was painfully loud in this room._

 _There was a mark next to each man's name. It seemed to mark that each husband adopted in had died shortly after his children's birth. Not one single exception. Almost as though the line was eradicating the blood of the other lines the moment it had served its purpose. It must have been very hard on the Shinozaki women._

 _"Daddy's not breathing..."_

 _With a jolt, I saw Sachiko and her mother. Yoshie was trying desperately to save her husband, tears in her eyes while her young daughter watched, afraid. Finally, Yoshie gave up and broke down sobbing._

 _Then something caught my eye. 'Kawamoto'. That was my last name. I looked at the branch. Fujie Shinozaki married Nobuhiko Kawamoto. Both were crossed off however._

 _'Patrilineal descent.'_

 _Fujie had taken her husband's name._

 _'Male heir.'_

 _Fujie and Nobuhiko had been the names of my parents._

 _Seira had three daughters. Fujie was descended from the...the youngest daughter._

 _I realised at that point that only those of the Shinozaki bloodline could return to this place, see it here. As my mother broke the Shinozaki law of descent, she was exempt from the curse, but her line of descent was unable to access the strong spiritual power of the line. If I recalled, the girl on the web had the surname Shinozaki. The Shinozaki estate could only appear to those blessed with Shinozaki blood. Though I hated my parents immensely, it looked like I had something to thank them for._

 _Did this mean I was gifted? Well, of course I am. I am gifted in art, I am gifted in power, and I carry the Kawamoto bloodline limit. I am very gifted._

 _Suddenly my head hurt as though trapped in a vice, as though my skull was being slowly cracked to pieces. I found my gaze drawn to the first desk and the biggest book that sat exact centre. I lifted the book. It was not bound by paper. The pages appeared to be human skin, and the cover animal hide. The cover had a grinning skull upon it and ornamental patterns sewn in. What appeared to be blood pooled at the lip of the cover._

The book of shadows.

 _The Book of Shadows is a dark tome of black magic and the darkest of spiritual and clairvoyant abilities. A chronicle of the lives of those capable of such abilities, dating back from the days off witch hunts. Much like a grimoire, passed down through the families of the seven great clairvoyants. And here it was, in the Shinozaki phantom estate. If legend was correct, only a descendant of one of the seven great families could open it, so I turned it in my hands and flicked it open. It fell open just like that._

 _The book was not in Japanese. I could not understand most of it. It was in a strange foreign language I have never encountered before and odd markings, likely ancient runes. It redetailed the spiriting away from before, but in less complicated terms. It also detailed how the curse of the Shinozaki estate could create another dimension, if enough souls were slaughtered and used to build the walls, including the original souls. It was an almost sickening idea. I have marked the calculations on the reverse of the photo of the Book of Shadows. It is a spell that has created the plain of spirits we search for. One likely cast by Yoshie in the Spirit in the Everafter ritual. She had scrawled notes all over the page on how to perform the Land of Corpses spell. The whole page was then crossed out. Heavenly Host's plain of spirits was not the intended outcome, and whoever had failed the spell had been seized with fear and desperately tried to undo their fault. It was even possible that their failure was what caused the violent deaths within the original school building._

 _With my information gathered, I turned to leave, but a little girl stood before me._

 _"Onii-san?" She asked respectfully. The little girl was the same one from all the pictures. Shinozaki Sachiko. "What are you doing in my house?"_

 _I stammered uncertainly and the girl's face twisted in fury._

 _"Why are you in my house?!"_

 _My head pulsed and my vision went white._

 _I awoke on the empty lot, blood dried over my face and hands. I coughed, sounding sickly as hell even to myself. I sat up, everything still hurting, and checked my camera was still there. I turned it on, flicked through the imaged and found every image had either a dark blot over it or a misty shape. Spiritual influence, confirmed. Method of ingress, obtained. Written by the shrine and in the book. Method of egress, obtained. Written in the book. I had to stand and get out of here. Right side of my body was paralysed. I couldn't move. Not far, at least. Left eardrum still ringing, bloody BM experience. Severe dizziness and nausea as I traveled to the road where I had last seen the man. It was now light and vision was smooth and easy. I found the truck, the man fast asleep behind the steering wheel. Fierce spiritual resistance at the estate. I could sense Sachiko was still with me, latching on, and could even see flashes of red out the corner of my eye. I vomited again, or at least my body tried to expel something. All that came out was phlegm, spittle and a bit of blood still in my mouth from before. I knocked weakly on the cab window, no longer believing myself capable of walking down the mountain alone. He awakened and stretched, yawning._

 _"Kid? That you? I got yer note." He looked up as he unlocked the doors and then gave a shout of horror. "God...yah look awful...what 'appened?"_

 _I shook my head and climbed in, curling up with a sniffle and a whimper. I was in so much pain. So ill. On the plus side, I didn't feel hungry any more I was so nauseous. I rested my head against the window after closing the door and didn't bother to buckle up this time. "I want to go home." I whined._

 _"Think yah need a doctor." The man muttered._

 _"Just take me to the train station, un." I begged in a weak voice. "Please."_

 _Reluctantly, he started the truck and turned it round to head down the mountain. The rumble of the shaky truck on the uneven road was unsettling my already sensitive stomach. I let out a low groan and tried to drift off to sleep, but the state this research had left me in was making that dream nigh impossible. He offered me a bar of chocolate at some point, and I tucked it away into my pocket. I barely noticed, but he must have been glancing at me in concern every moment he could._

 _The man tried to get me to agree to a hospital visit, but I threatened to jump right out if he didn't take me to the train station and hoof it. Finally, we arrived, and I hopped out of the truck with a muttered thanks. I made sure to take all my research with me and bid the driver goodbye, but before he could drive off, Sachiko appeared on the driver's seat. I could only watch as the man suddenly convulsed, screamed in agony, choked and finally fell limp. Weight was put on the accelerator and the truck went into the side of a building. I watched this before hurrying back to the base._

I followed Tobi this way and that, and no matter what, he would not stop and talk to me. I was getting scared. I just wanted him to look at me, to embrace me, tell me everything would be okay. We could mourn Kisame and Shinga, and we could return home and I could apologise for not sharing the full story. He would forgive me and lock the research away where it could no longer hurt anyone. But none of this happened, because Tobi kept running from me until I lost sight of him.

I can smell him. I'm getting closer. Soon I'll be able to touch him again, taste him again. My consciousness is fading, my hands turning black...but I'm alright. I'll be with him again soon, after all.

I've found the room he's run to. Red door. TV static. I throw the door open, calling to my beloved Tobi. He was in the closet. I found him.

I have missed him so very much. I sit before him and draw him into a tight embrace. I will never let him go again.

After a long time, the hug ends. His hand is on my face, brushing back my fringe, caressing my cheek. The soreness in my eye has faded completely now. Now we were together.

Forever.

I allowed him to cradle me. I could no longer feel his heat. My body is a black mist. My will to live, without Tobi's heat beside me, was gone. Fading away, he took the last dregs of my sanity with him. And so, no longer willing to live, I faded away to the curse of this school. I slipped away in my Tobi's arms.

I awoke in Heavenly Host. No longer alive, that much I could tell. I was a spirit. Perhaps I was given this chance so I could find Tobi before something too horrible happened. The last I remembered, I was falling to the Darkening and had sealed myself away in a closet. It must have been successful. Now to search for him. Find my Tobi. Then we can be together.

Together forever.


End file.
